Burglary suspect in custody after masked break-in at Deer Park business on Underwood Road, police say

DEER PARK, Texas (KTRK) — A burglary suspect is in custody after what police say was a masked break-in at a Deer Park business. However, the hunt for suspects didn’t end with the initial arrest. The search spread into a nearby neighborhood, leaving many residents shaken.

Neighbors said surveillance video from outside homes showed officers walking around with guns.

“A helicopter flew over for a good 45 minutes and it seemed to get lower and lower,” resident Chanda Conway said. “When you see police officers with rifles walking in your neighborhood, that raises some eyebrows.”

Conway said she was out riding her bike at the time.

“I was shocked that an officer couldn’t say, ‘Hey, you know, there’s some suspicious activity. Go inside, lock your doors, turn on your lights.’ Something like that,” Conway said.

According to the Deer Park Police Department, officers responded to the 1200 block of Underwood Road after it was reported by internal security that masked suspects were burglarizing the business.

Police said as officers arrived on scene, one suspect was taken into custody and the others fled into a nearby neighborhood, where officers began their search.

Neighbors said home surveillance video captured some people running into a backyard when police were searching the area.

“They were on camera in the backyard around the time that I was outside,” Conway said.

The department said the suspects are still at large but that there is no danger to the community.

However, all of those details were not released until Saturday afternoon when the department posted about it on Facebook.

ABC13 spoke with one woman, who asked to conceal her identity, said many people felt concerned there was no alert or social media post as this was unfolding.

Ultimately, she and others said any kind of information that night would’ve helped.

“Nothing to at least let us know, like, ‘Hey, stay inside,'” the woman said. “It wasn’t law enforcement that was informing us. It was this neighbor who saw it or, you know, ring cameras are catching what’s happening.”

Deer Park PD told ABC13 they don’t typically send out alerts about unarmed suspects fleeing police. Still, the department said it will continue to hear the concerns from the community and review tactics as necessary.