Man armed with screwdriver takes two hostage at Houston Freemasonry center

An “erratic” man broke into a Houston Freemasonry center Monday and took two people hostage before being taken into custody by police, according to officials.

The suspect, who has not been publicly identified, knocked on the door of the Scottish Rite center around 10 a.m. Monday, telling employees inside he wanted to “talk to them about their belief systems,” Assistant Houston Police Chief Larry Satterwhite said at a press conference.

When the employees refused to let him in, he went around the back and broke a window with a screwdriver. A female employee, thinking the sound of the breaking glass was gunshots, called police, who responded within minutes.

Officers found the man upstairs on a landing and began negotiating with him for his surrender after discovering he had taken two hostages.

Houston Scottish Rite in Texas.

The suspect first released a 91-year-old man, who was injured in the hand, Satterwhite said.

Police eventually talked the man into surrendering and he was taken into custody.

The second hostage, a 65-year-old man, was uninjured.

A spokesperson for the Houston Police Department did not have an ID for the suspect or charges when reached by the Daily News Tuesday. Satterwhite said Monday that he appeared to be in his 30s and may have been of Middle Eastern descent.