all for the fear of being deported.
PHOENIX -- Police and the bomb squad are on the scene of a barricade situation that began with a chase late Monday night.
It's not clear what sparked that initial chase, but according to the Department of Public Safety, it began in the area of Interstate 10 and 12th Street at about 11:15 p.m.
Few details were immediately available, but according to the DPS Duty Office, the suspect barricaded himself in one of the units at the San Terra apartment complex at 34th Street and McDowell Road.
A neighbor said the suspect knocked on the door of that apartment and when it was opened, he forced his way inside and took an entire family, including children, hostage. The suspect reportedly held them for several hours before eventually releasing them unharmed.
"He tied them up," Jeffery Patterson said. "She was on her hands and knees and stuff like that. And he had the kids in the back .... I guess when officers negotiated with him, he let them all come out."
When officers tried to go inside the apartment, the man reportedly told them that he had explosives. They backed off for safety's sake and called in reinforcements.
Video from the scene showed a large police presence and a bomb-squad command vehicle. A SWAT team was on site, as well.
Several nearby apartments have been evacuated as a precaution and fire personnel are on standby.
No information about the suspect has been released.