SWAT Action Closes Schools
Seven campuses in Northeast Austin are closed as police hunt for two suspects connected to early morning shooting
By Jordan Smith, 9:01AM, Thu. Nov. 6, 2008
Seven AISD campuses in Northeast Austin are closed today as Austin Police search for two suspects connected to an early morning shooting.
One man, clad in body armor who fired an AK-47 at police just after 4am at the corner of Berkman Dr. and Patton, is dead. Two men who were with the shooter fled the scene and remain at large, prompting officials to close schools and ask that area residents remain indoors.
The incident began at 3:58am, near IH-35 and U.S. 290, when police responded to a call that two people had been shot (both are in the hospital in stable condition). The suspects led officers on a nine-minute chase before the armor-clad suspect turned a high-power rifle on the cops.
Police have now blocked off the area from U.S. 290 to Briarcliff Dr., and from Northeast Dr. to Cameron Rd.
These schools will remain closed today: Reagan High School, Pearce Middle School, Andrews Elementary, Blanton Elementary, Harris Elementary, Pickle Elementary, and Clifton Career Development Center.
A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for almost 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.