AUSTIN (NewsNation Now) — Body camera footage captured the tense moments as police exchanged gunfire with a suspect who broke into a home and held a woman and child hostage.
“This is a true stranger hostage situation,” retired Tulsa police Lt. Sean “Sticks” Larkin said on “Dan Abrams Live.” And then when that kid gets added to it, it definitely changes things up.”
The Travis County District Attorney’s Office said Jordan Walton, 21, had broken into the home after crashing his car into another home on the same street a few minutes earlier. A 10-year-old child and his aunt were inside.
When police arrived, they were met with screams.
The DA’s office said Walton was armed with a 9mm handgun and fired a total of 22 shots at the officers while they were trying to reach the hostages. The exchange occurred earlier this year.
At one point, Walton called 911 and told the dispatcher to ask the police to leave.
“I’ve never killed anybody before and I hope I never have to,” Walton can be heard saying on the call.
“These types of things that he’s saying to the dispatcher, all the officers are getting this information, so they know how serious the situation is,” Larkin said.
Walton allegedly used the child as a shield, according to the DA’s office, and it was then that a SWAT officer gained a clear shot to hit Walton without hurting the 10-year-old.
The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene. The child and the woman taken hostage were brought to safety.
“Obviously, you want to try to end these things peacefully through negotiations,” Larkin said. “I think statistics show 85%, 90% of them typically do. This was just one of those scenarios that, unfortunately, had to end the way that it did to ensure the safety of both the boy and the woman inside.”
NewsNation affiliate KXAN contributed to this report.