AUSTIN, Texas — The Austin Police Department said they, along with Austin-Travis County EMS and the Austin Fire Department, responded to reports of a robbery at Barton Creek Mall Saturday night.
APD responded around 8:30 p.m. to 2901 S. Capital of Texas Highway after getting reports that three people were in the mall breaking glass cases at Helzberg Diamonds and attempting to steal items from the store, Michael Bullock with the APD Public Information Office said during a news conference.
As officers responded to the scene, Bullock said they received additional information that someone heard shots fired from inside the mall. At that point, the response was elevated, which initiated a larger response to include ATCEMS and AFD.
The first responders arrived on scene and evacuated the mall as a safety precaution.
No injuries were reported in the incident, nor does APD have any suspects detained or in custody at this time, Bullock said.
Officials at this point believe that the sounds of gunshots were actually the result of suspects hitting and breaking the glass at the jewelry store, Bullock said. He added that those involved got away with some items.
“We do realize that it was a very chaotic scene, but you saw a large number of police, fire and EMS units and this was because we were able to coordinate very quickly and arrive on scene to create teams in order to clear the mall as quickly and efficiently as we can to ensure that there would not be any threat to the public,” Bullock said.
Investigators are looking at the incident as an isolated one at Helzberg Diamonds. They are also reviewing surveillance video as part of the investigation.
ATCEMS first tweeted about the incident around 8:55 p.m. saying first responders were at the scene of an "active attack" at the mall after 911 callers reported "several people with guns and shots fired" near the food court. Then APD said just after 9:15 p.m. that they were responding to reports of a robbery.
About an hour later, ATCEMS said the incident was being "de-escalated" and that EMS units were leaving the scene. Minutes later, around 10:15 p.m., APD tweeted saying the scene was clear and safe.
Watch the full media conference on the incident here:
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