APD: Man at center of SWAT incident in SW Austin dead after shooting with officer, house fire

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AUSTIN (KXAN) – A lawn maintenance visit to the city of Austin in southwest Austin resulted in gunfire Wednesday morning, as well as a major house fire and officer shootout that afternoon. The man involved was later admitted to hospital, where he died, Austin police said.

Timeline

According to the Austin Police Department, the situation began around 9:16 a.m. when the Austin Code Department and APD officials visited a resident to serve an arrest warrant on the 10600 block on Pinkney Lane. Enforcement of the code is intended to conduct lawn care following complaints about tall weeds and grass.

“They tried to mow the lawn for him and that’s the reaction they got,” said APD officer Jose Mendez on Tuesday.

“The Odd House”: Local residents react after a man fires shots to enforce the Austin Code

According to APD, the resident started firing a gun from the house around 10:21 am during the visit. The city says all Austin Code employees involved are fine, despite a code inspector sustaining a minor shoulder injury while searching for protection.

SWAT crews, psychiatrists, and crisis negotiators responded at home around 10:43 a.m. APD says the resident refused to come out or communicate with officials. SWAT spent “several hours” using de-escalation techniques to contact the man.

At 3:19 p.m., the officers moved to the back of the apartment, where the man started shooting again. The officers made the entrance to the house with a robot. According to APD boss Joseph Chacon, the robot could see that a fire had started in the house and was spreading.

For the next 20 minutes, officers tried to lure the man out, but they could see the house was completely on fire, Chacon says. At the time, officials believed the man had succumbed to the flames and smoke.

The Austin Fire Department began the extinguishing work. At 3:39 pm the garage door opened and the man got out with “guns in hand,” says Chacon. A SWAT officer shot and hit the resident, who went down with a gunshot wound.

The officers tried to get the man out of the house and separated him from his weapons and the fire. The resident received medical care. He was later taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 4:01 p.m., according to Chacon.

“This was a cross-agency response,” said Chacon. AFD, Travis County SWAT, Travis County Constables and, as previously mentioned, Code Enforcement all helped keep the scene safe, Chacon said. No officers were injured.

Austin Fire will continue to monitor the house to make sure the fire does not start again. People are asked to stay out of the area for a while while law enforcement officers lock down the scene.

Details of the officer who shot residents

Chacon says the cop who shot the man is a SWAT officer who has been in the department for eight years. As befits a standard APD protocol, it is entrusted with administrative tasks pending the results of two separate investigations.

A criminal investigation is carried out by the APD Special Investigations Unit together with the public prosecutor. An administrative investigation is being carried out by the Police Oversight Bureau and the Internal Affairs Department.

“It was a crazy morning”

Tyler Strickel was working on the interior design of a nearby store and said he first saw police cars “fly past” the area around 9:30 am. An officer once spoke to him and his colleagues.

“He came to the window and said, ‘Stay in there, it could have been a shot.’ It was a crazy morning, ”said Strickel.

During the incident, he overheard members of the SWAT team talking to someone over an intercom and lightning bolts.

“This is a great neighborhood,” said Strickel. “I’m originally from here and just know that there are a number of elementary schools and preschools here, so it was definitely shocking.”

The city of Austin says several other complaints have been filed about the property in the past year, and even a similar cut has been made without incident.

Effects on schools in the area

• Fire on Pinkney Lane as seen from Austonian Tower Wednesday (KXAN)
• Circle C Child Development Center (KXAN Photo / Candy Rodriguez)
• APD official briefs on SWAT situation on Pinkney Lane in southwest Austin October 27, 2021 (KXAN Photo / Frank Martinez)

A local daycare center and elementary school are located in the area where the SWAT incident occurred.

The Circle C Child Development Center said it was safely locked down earlier in the day and parents could pick up their children if they wanted. In response to the incident, Kiker Elementary School on La Crosse Avenue was also rated “safe”.

The lockdowns on schools were lifted after officials were convinced the suspect was being rushed to hospital.

There is no threat to the public or the neighborhood, said Chacon.

According to Austin ISD, “safe” is used when there is a threat Outside of the building. As a result, all doors with students / staff inside are locked. Operation continues as usual.

Meanwhile, Austin ISD says bus services have been cut at several schools due to the situation, including Kiker and Bear Elementary Schools; Lively, Gorzycki, and Kealing Middle Schools; Bowie High School; LASA; Ann Richard SYWL; and the district’s Alternative Learning Center.

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