PORT NECHES — A Port Neches man is dead after a SWAT standoff Wednesday night.

Police were called to the 600 block of Ridgewood Avenue around 6:30 p.m. in reference to a civil standby as a family member was there to retrieve her belongings. The officer heard a single gunshot from inside the home and he and the family member backed away from the scene, Port Neches Police Chief Paul Lemoine said. The incident lasted four hours.

The normally serene street, lined with brick homes with two-car garages and sidewalks, soon filled with police vehicles as PNPD and Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputies responded.

“Using an abundance of caution we took this step by step,” Lemoine said as the scene unfolded down the street from where he spoke with media.

The resident of the home was described as former military and a former police officer in Hawaii who had weapons in the home.

Media was moved further away from the home to the corner of Ridgewood Avenue and Fellswood Lane as a SWAT vehicle entered the scene. At around 10:20 p.m. the “all clear” was given.

SWAT located the resident deceased with a single gunshot wound to the head.

The name of the deceased was not released as of 11 p.m.

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