AUSTIN, Texas — One person was in critical condition after being shot by police at a restaurant on North Lamar Boulevard late Sunday night.
In 911 call logs released by the Austin Police Department (APD), a caller stated at around 9:30 p.m. on Oct. 23 that a man was seen walking around an apartment complex in the 8900 block of North Lamar Boulevard holding a gun and "looking threatening." The caller further stated that when he went to his car, the man "took his gun out and looked like he was going to shoot."
According to officials, once officers arrived on scene, the man – identified as suspect Emeka Onyeabo Williams, 42 – was gone.
The caller told the 911 dispatcher that Williams saw the police and went the other direction.
After canvasing the area, APD said officers found Williams at a nearby restaurant, Mariscos Los Jarochos. APD said a responding officer gave commands to Williams over the police car's PA system, but he reportedly ignored all requests and tried to barricade himself in the restaurant.
Attempts to call and evacuate the restaurant were made, as there were several customers inside. Some employees and customers were moved to safety.
Viewer discretion is advised before watching the video footage.
The restaurant video footage, also released by APD, showed Williams between two pillars. He leaned out with a gun in his hand. Around 1:02 in the video, Williams was shot by APD officers.
APD stated that at around 10:19 p.m., Williams allegedly began to fire shots from inside the restaurant patio.
In bodycam footage from Officer Donald Petraitis, gunshots can be heard, leading Petraitis and other officers to rush into the restaurant. Multiple gunshots were made and Williams can be seen falling to the ground. Petraitis can be heard instructing Williams to "crawl to me" and move away from the gun that was on the ground.
Petraitis is heard stating to "kick the gun away" after the other officers surrounded Williams, and he is then seen putting on gloves to assist the EMS responders attending to Williams.
The bodycam footage from Officer Ashely Uniszkiewicz shows the first shots that were fired by Williams inside the restaurant patio. Uniszkiewicz and another officer next to her then ran toward the building as more shots are fired. Once Petraitis had put his gloves on, Uniszkiewicz attempted to open locked doors to check on other people within the restaurant. The video feed cut off before the doors were opened.
Officer David Lara's bodycam footage showed Uniszkiewicz moving backward from the first shots fired before running toward the restaurant after another officer instructed Williams to "drop his weapon" over a PA system. Lara is later seen behind Uniszkiewicz in attempting to open the locked doors. Lara's footage continues where Uniszkiewicz's ended, where Lara can be heard telling the people behind the door to "open the door" multiple times.
According to police, Williams fired at the officers. Five officers fired their guns at him, striking him several times and causing him to fall to the ground. Officers then retrieved the handgun.
"Upon reviewing the video sources associated with this incident, it was observed that Mr. Williams discharged the handgun in the direction of an officer when he [the officer] entered the patio," APD said in an update on Saturday.
Austin Travis-County EMS (ATCEMS) transported Williams to a local hospital where he remains in a critical condition. No one else inside the restaurant was injured.
The five officers that fired are now on leave pending an investigation. All bodycam footage and surveillance video is under review.
One officer has 11 years and 11 months of service, and another officer has 10 years and 10 months of service with the department. The third and fourth officers involved have four years of service with the department. The fifth officer involved has two years and eight months of service with the department.
The five officers involved in the shooting include Donald Petraitis, James Bronson, David Lara, Kamowa Reynolds and Ashley Uniszkiewicz.
Williams has been charged with attempted capital murder, a first-degree felony, and deadly conduct, a third-degree felony.
A criminal investigation is underway by the APD Special Investigations Unit in conjunction with the Travis County District Attorney's Office. An administrative investigation is also underway by the APD Internal Affairs Unit, with oversight from the Office of Police Oversight.
Anyone with any information on the incident is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 512-472-TIPS.
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