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Senegal
A man reportedly died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after standoff with police on Dec. 27.
Officer Haley Morrow, spokesperson for the Beaumont Police Department (BPD), reported Lee Austin Senegal Jr. kidnapped a woman, drove her to Louisiana, then returned to Beaumont and barricaded himself in a home with two children inside.
BPD hostage negotiators began speaking with Senegal and were suc- cessful in getting Senegal to release the children. After more than two hours of negotiations, officers found the man inside the home on Broun, dead from a gunshot wound.
Morrow reported that the incident began about 1:25 a.m., when BPD responded to a residence in the 6700 block of Greenwood after a neighbor called in a disturbance. Morrow noted that the preliminary investigation revealed a family violence/aggravated kidnapping had occurred.
Officers determined the identity of the suspect and victim through previous call history. BPD further discovered the suspect stole the victim’s vehicle during the kidnapping and officers began searching for the vehicle. At about 2:20 a.m., BPD officers were notified that the victim’s vehicle was spotted in Vinton, Louisiana.
According to Morrow, at 4:35 a.m., BPD received a 911 call from a residence in the 9600 block of Broun to report a man was inside the residence with a gun. When officers arrived at the home, they located the victim’s vehicle, the kidnapping victim and homeowner.
Police say both the kidnapping victim and homeowner were previously in relationships with the suspect.
Justice of the Peace Ben Collins Sr. ordered an autopsy.
No other information has been released as of press time.