Officer-Involved Shooting in Northeast Austin

Update: APD has identified the involved officer, as well as the victim in yesterday’s shooting. For an update on the story, go here.

Original Story: An 18-year-old black man was shot and killed by an Austin Police officer this morning in Northeast Austin, shortly after 10:30am.

The 18-year-old, who has not yet been identified by police, was shot by a 10-year veteran of APD who was immediately placed on administrative leave, as is customary with officer involved shootings. A spokesperson for the department declined to identify the officer.

According to APD Chief of Staff Brian Manley, who held a press conference shortly after the shooting, police were called to the 12000 block of Nature’s Bend in Northeast Austin – just south of Parmer Lane – at 9:57am after receiving a number of calls about a “suspicious man” acting “erratically” around the neighborhood.

Police reported that the 18-year-old was naked when they found him in the neighborhood. He was issued directives from responding officers but did not to follow them. Manley said the 18-year-old began charging at the officer, at which point the officer fired his gun. Austin-Travis County medics responded to the scene at 10:26am and took the body to St. David’s Round Rock Medical Center, where he died.

Department Public Information Officials have not commented on whether the 18-year-old was armed when he was shot, but his lack of clothing suggests that any potential weapon he possessed would have been held in one of his hands and in full sight. Police said dashboard camera footage from APD vehicles captured video of some of the incident but did not catch the shooting – although it did pick up audio, Manley said, of the officer ordering the 18-year-old to stay back. Police did not comment on whether or not the 18-year-old was captured on the dashboard camera footage at any point, and did not say whether APD found a gun that didn’t belong to the department anywhere in the vicinity.

Check back with the Chronicle for further updates.