Man in custody after assaulting 2 hotel employees, breaking into suite at Marriott Marquis Houston, police say

HOUSTON – A man is in custody after police say he assaulted two hotel employees and used a fire extinguisher to break into a hotel suite.

The incident happened around 10:50 p.m. Friday at Marriott Marquis Houston, located in the 1700 block of Walker Street in downtown Houston.

Police said a man in his 30s attempted to rent a room at the hotel without a form of payment and was denied. He left the hotel and returned later in the night. He again attempted to secure a room without a form of payment. At some point while he was inside the hotel, the man managed to enter a hallway and disrobed down to an undershirt, underwear and what Assistant Police Chief Larry Satterwhite said was “basically a blanket.”

The man made his way to the 29th floor of the hotel, accompanied by a hotel employee who had observed the man’s behavior and had recognized the man was possibly in crisis. Soon, another hotel employee joined them on the 29th floor. The pair of employees attempted to coax the man downstairs. According to police, during that process, the man became aggressive, punched both the employees, and managed to get ahold of a fire extinguisher, which he used to threaten the employees. The man discharged the fire extinguisher.

Police said the employees fled and before security arrived, the man used the fire extinguisher to break into a suite, which he locked himself inside.

While hotel security talked with the man they heard a pop they interpreted as a gunshot, which led management to initiate the evacuation of the hotel, Satterwhite said.

Once on the scene, police established a perimeter on the 29th floor and eventually used a “less lethal weapon” to subdue the man, Satterwhite said.

The man was taken to Ben Taub Hospital for an evaluation.

Police say he faces multiple charges.

Satterwhite said police did not find a gun or any evidence a shot was fired. They did find a broken bottle inside the suite, which they believe hotel staff may have mistaken as a gunshot.


About the Author:

Briana Zamora-Nipper joined the KPRC 2 digital team in 2019. When she’s not hard at work in the KPRC 2 newsroom, you can find Bri drinking away her hard earned wages at JuiceLand, running around Hermann Park, listening to crime podcasts or ransacking the magazine stand at Barnes & Noble.