Texas I-45 freeway standoff with woman with gun ends after mental health crises after pulling out folding chair and sitting in middle of road amid desperate police negotiations with police over the next 5 hours along Interstate 45 near Cypresswood.
Who is she and what did she want? A woman with a handgun is reported to have engaged in a 5 hours long armed standoff with police on a busy Texas freeway, before eventually capitulating but not before causing traffic chaos for thousands of commuters as cops descended on the scene and ordered the throughway shut down.
Multiple law enforcement agencies rushed to Interstate 45, near Cypresswood, Thursday afternoon in an effort to negotiate with the woman, who pulled a folding chair out of her car and sat in the middle of the road from about 1.30pm local time.
Woman with gun involved in standoff in middle of #Texas freeway, police say
Pct. 4 officials said a woman refused to drop her weapon after a crash on I-45 near #Cypresswood. She sat in a lawn chair with a gun for hours, holding up traffic.#USA https://t.co/Jntdqu3DqK pic.twitter.com/QaqHABmAnH
— ⚡️🌎 World News 🌐⚡️ (@ferozwala) June 27, 2025
According to KWTX 10, a constable reported the woman had ‘apparently turned her vehicle directly into the path of an 18-wheeler’ and caused a collision.
It is understood a trained mental health officer was among first responders on the scene attempting negotiations.
A spokesperson for the Harris County Constable’s Precinct said a family member also arrived.
Shared footage of the incident on social media shows traffic backed up for miles as armed officers kept an eye out on the un-identified woman.
Authorities reported the woman said she ‘wants her kids’ and claimed they were being held hostage.
Sheriff Ed Gonzalez told Fox News the woman, armed with a pistol, is expressing suicidal thoughts.
She had refused to comply with orders to drop the weapon, and was refusing to to move from her position in the middle of the road.
By 6.30pm, officers shared an update that the standoff had ended peacefully.
Reported KHOU: ‘After an hours long standoff shut down I–45, the woman who had pulled out a lawn chair and held a gun to herself surrendered and was taken into custody. She was seen hugging a negotiator after the ordeal.’
Pictures shared on social media showed the woman, wearing all blue, as she was escorted off the road by at least eight authorities.
Harris County Sheriff’s Office officials shared that the woman is 64 years old with a history of mental illness. She was taken to an area hospital for treatment.
‘The standoff on the North Freeway and Cypresswood Drive has ended peacefully,’ police said.
‘Constable Deputies along with multiple law enforcement officers and first responders have safely apprehended the armed female suspect sitting on the main lanes of the freeway.
‘Thank you to all the brave first responders who helped resolve the situation peacefully.’
The traffic gridlock will now ease as ‘north and south bound lanes of the North Freeway are slowly reopening.’
Soon after she surrendered, traffic on I-45 started moving in both directions.
