In a scene eerily similar to one that played out four years ago, police and federal agents swarmed a quiet neighborhood near Rice University Sunday, blocking the street into the night without offering any details on the investigation.

Houston Police only offered around 3 p.m. that they were on "special assignment" in the 2000 block of Albans, along with the FBI and ATF.

The FBI said it was "lawfully present conducting law enforcement operations" that are "in the interest of public safety," according to an agency statement. "Since the matter is ongoing, we are unable to provide additional details at this time."

Just after 4 p.m., law enforcement officers wearing camouflage and carrying long guns gathered along the upscale street following a robot as neighbors came outside to watch the commotion.

The flashing lights of police vehicles brought neighbors to their sidewalks, clustered on the corners. Officers hustled residents and media off the quiet block, urging them to stay back.

"This is a big deal for our neighborhood," said Mike Leath, a doctor who lives nearby.

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Around 5 p.m., law enforcement teams pulled out a battering ram and drew close to a brick house that seemed to be the focus.

An FBI evidence team arrived later, and at 7:30 p.m. authorities said they planned to be there overnight. HFD officers taped off multiple houses as the sidewalks cleared and emergency vehicles drove off. They also wrapped yellow tape on large swaths of the block.

Back in 2013, feds raided a home in the same block looking for chemicals intended to make "tear gas or nerve gas," a law enforcement source told the Chronicle at the time. Court documents later revealed the substance was picric acid, a military-grade explosive.

The home that was the center of the furor four years ago belonged to Cecily E. Horton, a stalwart of the local art community, and her husband, Andrew Schneck. But the focus of the raid was the couple's son, then-22-year-old Andrew Cecil Earhart Schneck.

In the same 2103 sweep, authorities raided two other spots, including one in the Memorial area. The next day, FBI agents touched off two controlled detonations at a home on Fall River owned by Horton at the time.





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The following year, the younger Schneck was sentenced to five years of probation after pleading guilty in federal court to knowingly storing high explosives. In 2016, a judge agreed to release him from probation ahead of schedule.

Authorities did not indicate whether Sunday's actions were in any way related to the past raid.