AUSTIN, Texas — Austin police released new details Wednesday after a man was shot and killed during a SWAT standoff earlier this month.
According to police, the incident started when officers spotted a stolen vehicle near the intersection of Salt Springs Drive and Thaxton Road on May 21. Police said the stolen vehicle pulled into a Texaco and the driver entered the store.
Police identified the suspect as 35-year-old Alfonso Gonzales, who was the only person in the vehicle at the time of the incident. Officers found Gonzales with a gun inside the business and said he refused to leave or drop his weapon, which led to SWAT being called out.
Police said Gonzales began pacing back and forth with the gun, pouring lighter fluid onto the counter. During this time, a gas station employee was locked inside an office space, while a cook was able to escape the premises.
Saxx Williams, who owns Sax's Tacos inside the gas station, told KVUE he heard gunshots while he was cooking. Williams said Gonzales allowed him to leave, but that the store manager was still inside.
"I was just inside cooking and heard a gunshot … So I walked around the counter real slowly to see what was going on, and the guy behind there pops out, tells me, 'Yo, get out the store,'" Williams said. "So I come out the store and the minute I walk out the store, there's already three or four cops standing on the side of the door with guns."
Gonzales continued to ignore officers despite knowing there was an employee stuck inside. Later, Gonzales allegedly shot at law enforcement and started pouring lighter fluid into a container with a rag to create a Molotov cocktail, according to police. Officers then attempted to use pepper spray projectiles to lure Gonzales out, but he remained inside the gas station.
After several hours, Gonzales was shot by police and taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
KVUE also spoke with a neighbor who watched the hours-long SWAT standoff just feet away from his house.
"I went to the window, and I noticed all the police cars and everything," Miguel Uribe said. "Right away, I pick up the phone and start recording everything. And sat there and watch[ed] pretty much the whole process."
Officers told Uribe to stay away from his back window for his own safety. He said the whole situation was a shock to him after living in his house and the neighborhood for 20 years.
"That’s the first time anything like that’s ever really happened there," Uribe said. “It was really hard to believe that that happened right there.”