AUSTIN, Texas — One person is dead after a shooting involving an Austin Police Department (APD) officer early Saturday morning.
Interim Police Chief Robin Henderson said at both 11:34 p.m. and 11:42 p.m. Friday, Austin 911 received reports of loud music and noise from cars in the parking lot of the Summer Grove apartment complex, located at 7905 San Felipe Blvd., near U.S. 183 and McNeil Drive in northwest Austin.
At 12:14 a.m. Saturday, another 911 caller reported someone walking around with a gun. Within the same minute, another caller reported a man wearing black clothing, walking around with an assault rifle.
Seconds later, Henderson said multiple 911 callers reported hearing gunshots and that a man had four to five other men at gunpoint. At this point, the call was changed to a "gun hotshot" call and officers were immediately dispatched to the scene.
Henderson said as officers were responding, other callers reported hearing arguments and multiple gunshots and reported multiple people leaving the scene in vehicles.
At approximately 12:20 a.m., the first two officers arrived at the apartment complex and searched the area for a disturbance. As more officers arrived and joined the search, at around 12:34 a.m., officers found a group of people in the parking lot and identified themselves as police.
It was at this time that Henderson said a man wearing black – identified as 44-year-old Thomas Dray Price – stepped out from the breezeway of a building, holding a gun. The officers announced, "Austin police – show me your hands!" and repeated the command in Spanish.
They then repeated, "Hands up, drop the gun!" several times, but Price did not comply and instead raised his gun toward the officers.
At approximately 12:36 a.m., Henderson said two officers – one with four years of service with APD and the other with two – fired their guns at Price and hit him.
Officers on the scene then administered first aid and performed life-saving measures on Price until Austin-Travis County EMS medics arrived. At around 1:11 a.m., Price was taken to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead at 1:39 a.m.
Henderson said officers did not know if there were any other armed people in the apartment that they believed Price came out of, so the SWAT team and Bomb Squad were called to the scene. SWAT made entry into the apartment but didn't find anyone else inside.
No one else was injured during this incident, and Henderson said there is no ongoing threat to the public.
Henderson said this incident was captured on officers' body-worn cameras and, per APD policy, that video will be released within 10 business days. Also per APD protocol, the two officers who fired their weapons have been placed on administrative leave.
APD will conduct two concurrent investigations into this incident: a criminal investigation by the Special Investigations Unit in conjunction with the Travis County District Attorney's Office, and a administrative investigation conducted by the Internal Affairs Unit with oversight from the city of Austin's Office of Police Oversight.
Anyone with any information about this incident is encouraged to call the Special Investigations Unit at 512-974-6840. Tips may also be submitted anonymously to the Capital Area Crime Stoppers online or by calling 512-472-8477.
Henderson said this investigation is still in its early stages, and all information is preliminary. Information may change as the investigation progresses.