Two Austin Police officers were injured on Sunday after an urgent 911 call turned into an early morning SWAT situation. The situation began just before 11pm on March 25, when three officers responded to a call from a duplex in Southeast Austin. Upon arriving, they knocked on the door to no answer, but someone fired shots at them as they made to leave. In a press briefing around 1:30am, interim Chief Brian Manley reported that the officers then jumped a nearby fence and called for backup. One suffered a gunshot wound to his arm, and another hurt his hand and knee. Both were later taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Meanwhile, the third officer returned fire, and the incident escalated into a SWAT situation. Using a robot, officers blasted the duplex’s door open, which eventually led to the suspect and a woman running from the home. During the course of their exit a SWAT officer shot and killed the suspect. That officer and the one who returned fire earlier in the standoff are both on administrative duty as officials investigate the incident, per department policy.
This article appears in March 30 • 2018.