George Pickering II has now been released from jail

A father took a gun into hospital to stop doctors taking his son off life support - and during the three-hour stand-off the young man squeezed his hand.

The sign that he wasn't brain dead meant he was kept alive - and he is now recovering and doing well.

His father, 59-year-old George Pickering II, was charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after marching into Tomball Regional Medical Center in Texas with a gun.

His 27-year-old son, George III, had been declared brain dead after suffering a massive stroke in January.

After doctors declared there was no more hope for him, they ordered a 'terminal wean' - whereby life support is slowly withdrawn to end a life.

Pickering's ex-wife and other son had agreed to the move, and the young man had already been placed on an organ donation register.

But Pickering Sr told KPRC: 'They were moving too fast. The hospital, the nurses, the doctors. I knew if I had three or four hours that night that I would know whether George was brain-dead.'

Pickering II (right) was armed when he went to the hospital where his son George III (left) was being treated

Doctors at Tomball Regional Medical Center in Houston told police how Pickering threatened them

During the three-hour standoff, Pickering threatened hospital staff. His other son was eventually able to get the gun from him.

Pickering admitted to being drunk and aggressive but said it was only because he knew his son wasn't ready to die.

During the standoff, Pickering's faith that his son had been misdiagnosed never wavered and after he finally got the response he wanted from his boy, he surrendered peacefully to authorities.

'During that three hours, George squeezed my hand three or four times on command,' he said.

His son later came out of his coma and is now fully recovered.

The charges against Pickering were eventually reduced and he was released earlier this month.

His son said: 'There was a law broken, but it was broken for all the right reasons.

'I'm here now because of it. It was love, it was love.'

After a lengthy standoff with police, Pickering was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon