AUSTIN — The suspect -- who was shot and killed during SWAT hostage incident at 5500 Ponciana Drive just north of Stassney Lane -- has been identified as 28-year-old Hugo Alvarez.
APD Interim Chief Brian Manley said the the department received a 911 call from a male caller requesting the police and then hung up the phone.
Three officers were initially dispatched to the duplex where the call originated from, including one rookie officer, Manley said. Officers knocked on the door of one side of the duplex and made contact with the residents, who said they did not call 911. Officers then knocked several times on the door at the other side of the duplex, did not make contact with any residents, and gun shots were fired from inside that residence -- striking one officer in the arm, Manley said.
The officers evacuated the front area of the home, called EMS for medical assistance and made an assistance call. The SWAT team was then paged out to the scene, Manley said. The officer who wasn't shot in the arm also claimed to have injuries and was self-extricated from the scene. Manley said at 11:46 p.m. on March 25, EMS determined the officers' injuries to not be life-threatening.
The scene extended into the morning hours of March 26, where there were six reports of gunshots inside the home in a two-hour span: 12:11 a.m., 12:59 a.m., 1:00 a.m., 1:11 a.m., 1:16 a.m., and 1:46 a.m. Manley said officers reported a loud bang followed by a scream at 1:16 a.m., as well.
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Manley said APD then believed there was a woman in the residence, likely to be the suspect's mother.
At 1:56 a.m., APD deployed a robot to breach the front door of the residence, Manley said. Minutes later, Manley said a officer reported over the radio, "He's got a hostage. He's coming out toward the front door."
Alvarez walked out the home with a woman in front of him, and a SWAT officer fired one shot, Manley said. The SWAT Rescue Team subsequently moved in to remove the female from the scene and Alvarez was pronounced dead shortly thereafter.
Manley said APD was made aware on the night of the incident that Alvarez possibly left the firearm inside the home prior to exiting. He said police reviewed video of the incident on a small screen and could not definitively tell if suspect had a firearm or not.
Manley stated that APD discovered in the investigation following the incident that Alvarez did, in fact, leave a gun on the floor inside the residence prior to exiting.
According to Manley, the SWAT officer who fired the shot has been placed on administrative leave, per department policy as the investigation continues. The officers who were injured in the incident have been placed on injury leave, Manley said.
“This is tragic," Manley said. "This is a very dynamic situation that evolved over several hours and unfortunately there were significant injuries that occurred during this.”
Manley said police believe the 911 caller who hung up the phone was Alvarez, but have yet to confirm whether or not he was the caller.
The case will be presented before a grand jury, according to Travis County District Attorney Margaret Moore.
The incident was the city’s third police shooting in March and the fifth officer-involved shooting in 2018.