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At approximately 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 16, 2024, Grapevine police officers were dispatched to the parking garage of the Jefferson Silverlake Apartments located at 1775 N. SH-26. A witness reported seeing a man trying to get into multiple unattended vehicles.

As officers confronted the suspect, the man got back into his car, while trying to flee, and crashed into an occupied, marked patrol vehicle, a parked car, then drove directly towards two officers. Fearing for their lives, one officer fired their weapon to stop the threat. The suspect vehicle then crashed into a transformer, which caught fire.

The suspect ran away from the car, and officers immediately chased after him towards Bass Pro Court. The man was caught at Cowboys Golf Course approximately 15 minutes later. He was taken to the hospital for minor injuries, then transported to jail.

23-year-old Keyvionte Henderson of Dallas now faces charges for: aggravated assault against a public servant, evading arrest/detention, evading arrest/detention with a vehicle, duty on striking unattended vehicle, and accident involving damage to a vehicle.

The officer who fired their duty weapon was not injured and is on standard administrative leave, with pay, pending the outcome of a full investigation. The Texas Rangers have been called to investigate the case.

As the state of Texas braces for the polar plunge this weekend, officials at ERCOT say the tightest capacity and demand will take place on Monday and Tuesday mornings.

Temperatures across the state are forecasted to be in the teens or single digits on Monday and Tuesday. Wind chills could dip below 0 in the northernmost portions of the state. Light wintry precipitation is also forecasted for a large portion of Texas late Sunday into Monday.

These weather conditions will increase energy demand to just under 80,000 MW at 9:00am on Monday morning with a committed capacity of 81,160 MW. Similar capacity and demand conditions will exist on Tuesday morning with a reserves around 1,500 MW.

If the reserves drop below 2,500 MW and are not expected to recover within 30 minutes, ERCOT will enter into emergency operations.

If operating reserves fall below 1,500 MW, ERCOT will call on local electric utilities to begin rolling blackouts. We are forecasted to be close to that threshold on Monday and Tuesday mornings.

ERCOT has issued a Weather Watch from January 14–17 due to forecasted extreme cold weather across the ERCOT region, higher electrical demand, and the potential for lower reserves. Grid conditions are expected to be normal.

We will keep you updated on any conversation appeals throughout the next several days.

At approximately 11:00 a.m. this morning, the Fort Worth Fire Department was notified by Atmos Energy that they had concluded their underground assessment of the natural gas pipeline outside the Sandman Signature Hotel (810 Houston Street). The gas company stated that “its safety checks and investigation has found no indication that its system was involved in the January 8^th incident.”

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was present throughout the incident to oversee the Atmos testing and did not raise objection to the statements from Atmos. 

At this time, the Fort Worth Fire Department (FWFD) can confidently say that it appears that the events from January 8^th were not triggered from outside of the structure. While FWFD remains confident that natural gas was involved, they will transition the investigation to focus on the inside of the structure.

The fire investigation unit will continue to be the lead agency, working collaboratively with the Fort Worth Police Department and other partner agencies. We will continue to work alongside the Sandman Signature Hotel leadership to complete a thorough investigation and intends to be a part of the debris removal to assess the areas of damage for additional cause and determination information. 

“Although this is still in the early stages of the investigation, this is a significant development and provides us the ability to focus on a smaller footprint in order to try and determine a cause of this tragic event for all involved,” stated Fire Chief Jim Davis. “We appreciate everyone’s continued cooperation.”

At around 3:30pm Monday afternoon, multiple 9-1-1 calls were received about an explosion at the Sandman Hotel in the 800 block of Houston Street in downtown Fort Worth.

Fort Worth police and fire crews arrived to find heavy damage from the building and multiple injured persons. A 2nd alarm was requested to the scene along with the AmBus (Ambulance Bus) from MedStar EMS.

Initial reports indicate the explosion is gas-related. Authorities are still working to identify the cause.

Several ambulances have been requested to the scene for several individuals with minor injuries. A few injuries have been reported as serious.

The scene remains active in the area of Houston Street, 8th Street, Throckmorton Street, and W. 7th Street.

Updates to follow below.

UPDATE – The Family Reunification Center for those involved will be at Sundance Square.

UPDATE – MedStar reports 11 injured so far: one in critical condition and two with serious injuries. The rest are considering non-serious.

UPDATE – Fire crews say construction was occurring at the site when the explosion occurred.

UPDATE – Additional information indicates there was also a fire, and it has been extinguished. Firefighters rescued multiple people from the building and located one person initially missing after the blast. Crews are still searching the building for any remaining victims. No deaths have been reported. As of right now, a total of 21 people have sustained injuries.

UPDATE – Full statement from FWPD – At approximately 3:32 p.m. multiple 911 calls were received for a fire at the Sandman Hotel located at 810 Houston St. The Fort Worth Fire Department responded to the structure fire call and it was immediately updated to an explosion call at the same location. The Fort Worth Police Department assisted with street closures and clearing out parking garages in the immediate area. Fort Worth Fire noticed an odor of gas in the area and reached out to Atmos for assistance. A family assistance center/reunification center has been set up at 200 W. 5th St. for family members who are looking for loved ones. The latest report on injured individuals is 21. One of those was critical, four seriously injured and 14 of those were transported to a local hospital. One of the injured was self-transported to a hospital. This is an ongoing investigation and further details will be released as they become available.