Houston SWAT Fatally Shoots Armed Suspect After 90-Minute Parole Warrant Standoff

A 90-minute standoff on a southeast Houston residential street ended in gunfire on March 9 when Kojuan Miles, 36, stepped out of a Belarbor Street home carrying a high-powered rifle and opened fire on officers. HPD SWAT Officer R. Saini, a 16-year department veteran, returned fire and fatally struck Miles. No officers were injured.

The confrontation began when officers from the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Texas Attorney General's Office, and the Harris County Precinct 7 Constable's Office converged on the home near Belbay Street in the 6000 block of Bellfort Street to serve a parole violation warrant. HPD received a call for assistance around 10:25 a.m. When officers announced their presence, Miles barricaded himself inside and armed himself with at least two weapons, triggering activation of HPD's SWAT unit.

Negotiators from the Texas Attorney General's Office spent approximately an hour and a half communicating with Miles, largely via text message, according to HPD Assistant Chief Megan Howard. The effort yielded nothing. During the standoff, Miles allegedly posted on social media: "Rather die on my feet then to live on my knees." At approximately 12:30 p.m., he walked out of the residence with the high-powered rifle and fired at least one round toward officers. Saini returned fire, striking Miles, who retreated back inside and discharged at least one additional shot before the exchange ended.

The Texas Attorney General's Office subsequently identified Miles as a registered sex offender. Harris County court records show that in 2014, a jury sentenced him to 23 years in prison for sexual assault of a child, a crime committed against a teenage girl. Officers had come to Belarbor Street specifically to serve a parole violation warrant tied to that conviction.

Per HPD policy, the shooting is under review by HPD's Internal Affairs Division, the Harris County District Attorney's Office, and the Texas Attorney General's Office. Department policy also mandates the release of body-worn camera footage within 30 days of any officer-involved shooting; HPD released the video publicly following the incident.

The shooting adds to a trend HPD has tracked in recent years. Officers were involved in 28 shooting incidents in 2025, resulting in 12 deaths, matching the total from 2024 and representing nine more incidents than in 2023. HPD, the fifth-largest municipal police department in the United States with approximately 5,300 officers, serves Houston, the country's fourth-largest city.