A suspect was shot dead by police and three people were injured after officers were called to a downtown Austin bar on reports that a man was illegally carrying a firearm late Saturday night, police said.
Uniformed officers were called to a bar in downtown Austin at 11:52 p.m. (10:52 p.m. ET) after staff reported the illegal gun. After pulling out the weapon and pointing it at bar patrons, he was shot dead by police, the Austin Police Department said.
It is unclear how the other three people got their injuries — police did not say whether they were the result of gunfire. One person was critically injured.
The suspect who died has not been named.
“Officers approached the suspect. The suspect pulled out his firearm and pointed in the direction of officers and innocent bystanders,” Interim Chief of Police Robin Henderson said in a news conference.
“In response, three APD officers fired their Department-approved firearms at the suspect. The suspect sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was later pronounced deceased. No officers were injured in the incident.”
Henderson then added that “there are three individuals, other than the suspect who sustained injuries during this incident.” One is in a critical condition while the other two have injuries that are non-life-threatening, he said.
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A criminal investigation into the incident is underway, handled jointly by the APD’s Special Investigations Unit and the Travis County District Attorney’s Office, while the APD’s Internal Affairs Unit will separately run its own investigation at the same time.
The so-far unnamed bar was on the 200 block of E 6th St in downtown Austin, a lively area with many bars, restaurants and live music venues. It is illegal to carry a firearm inside a bar, according to the Texas penal code, police said.
The incident was captured on the officers’ body-worn cameras and will be released within 10 business days, in line with the force’s policy.
Henderson added in his statement that the three officers involved were experienced firearms-approved lawmen with 9, 11, and 13 years of service with APD. All three have been placed on “administrative duty” as per force protocol on officer-involved shootings.
APD will conduct two concurrent investigations into the officer-involved shooting: a criminal investigation conducted by the APD Special Investigations Unit in conjunction with the Travis County District Attorney’s Office and an administrative investigation conducted by the APD Internal Affairs Unit, with oversight from the Office of Police Oversight.
Police urged any witnesses to contribute evidence to austincrimestoppers.org.
