AUSTIN, Texas — A man is dead following an hourslong SWAT standoff in southeast Austin, according to police.
The incident started just after 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 21, when officers with the Austin Police Department (APD) said they saw a stolen vehicle near the intersection of Salt Springs Drive and Thaxton Road by a gas station.
The driver was reportedly found with a gun inside of a business but refused to leave or drop the weapon, which led to a SWAT callout, according to police. Hours later, police said efforts to get the suspect to surrender weren't successful, and he barricaded himself inside of the gas station.
In a press briefing Tuesday night, APD said the suspect began pacing back and forth with the gun, pouring lighter fluid onto the counter. During this time, one of the gas station employees was locked inside an office space, while a cook was able to escape the premises.
The suspect continued to ignore officers despite knowing there was an employee stuck inside, and members of the Austin Fire Department and Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services soon arrived on scene.
The suspect then shot at law enforcement officials and started pouring lighter fluid into a container with a rag to create a Molotov cocktail, according to police. This combination could have become a serious risk for the employee inside.
APD attempted to use pepper spray projectiles to lure out the suspect, but he remained inside the gas station.
Officers shot the suspect and he was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Saxx Williams, who owns Sax's Tacos inside the gas station, told KVUE he heard gunshots while he was cooking. Williams said the suspect 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."
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."
After a few hours, officers told Uribe to stay away from his back window for his own safety. Police had also blocked off his cul-de-sac, so being the only retired one on his street, he was the only one home and able to communicate with his neighbors about what was going on.
"They were all really good neighbors calling, concerned, texting me, 'Are you okay?' 'Do you need to get out of there?'" Uribe said.
The whole situation was a shock to Uribe, who's lived in his house and 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.”
This investigation is currently ongoing and information is subject to change. Anyone with information is encouraged to call APD Special Investigations Unit at 512-974-6840 or the Capital Area Crime Stoppers at 512-472-8477.