HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Two communities are asking questions after FBI raids on Friday. The agents targeted two Houston homes -- one near Rice University and the other in the Memorial area.
Law enforcement spent more than seven hours searching one of the homes. What they were after, they wouldn't say. Whatever it was, they were concerned enough that every time they went in they wore protective gear.
For much of the day, curious neighbors were kept so far back they had to use binoculars to see what was going on in the middle of Albans Road.
"I don't know if there's a threat or if there's danger," said neighbor Jill Satterwhite.
A small army of law enforcement descended upon this neighborhood of million dollar homes. Investigators wore HazMat suits, respirators and oxygen tanks before entering. It was unnerving, to say the least.
One eyewitness says a Houston police officer told him they were looking for bomb making materials at the property. The FBI, however, would not confirm that.
Nieghbor Steve Nall said, "It's crazy because it's such a quiet street and nothing ever happens here."
An FBI spokesperson tells us they were serving a search warrant which was filed under seal so they could not provide any more detail.
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The FBI was searching at a third scene in Bryan on Friday. There is a connection to the raids held in Houston.
An FBI agent told us that the search is still going on and that there is no public threat or hazard at this time. The search warrant is sealed, so everyone is keeping quiet.
One resident told us investigators have pulled out the contents in the home they are searching and laid it all out in the front yard.
Earlier in the day on Friday, residents were told to voluntarily evacuate. Some were allowed in, but had to show where they live on a map.
Several units left the area late in the afternoon, including the College Station special operations unit. An FBI agent we talked to still would not confirm what they are looking for or what they have found. He would also not confirm the homeownership connection; even he did say it is at matter of public record.
He did say no arrests were made and there is no public hazard at this point.
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=9274219
