Tense scenes in Texas street as off-duty cop with gun confronts tiger
- Residents startled to see a tiger wandering around their Houston neighbourhood
- Man believed to be tiger’s owner arrested, but whereabouts of animal is unknown
A Texas man free on bond from a murder charge was returned to custody after neighbours found a pet tiger wandering around a Houston neighbourhood.
Houston police said that Victor Hugo Cuevas, 26, was back in custody charged with felony evading arrest.
Police had said they believed the tiger had belonged to Cuevas, but his lawyer questioned the accuracy of that belief.
Video of the Sunday night encounter shows the tiger coming face-to-face with an armed off-duty Waller County sheriff’s deputy, police said. During the encounter, the deputy can be heard yelling at Cuevas to get the animal back inside.
No shots were fired.
When officers arrived, Cuevas put the animal in a white Jeep Cherokee and drove off, Houston police Commander Ron Borza said. Cuevas got away after a brief pursuit, he said.