Police fatally shoot Texas driver who cut off, pointed gun at off-duty officer
AUSTIN, Texas (KXAN) — Police shot and killed a man in Austin, Texas, early Tuesday morning while responding to an altercation on the road involving an off-duty officer.
A woman was also shot and police found a baby uninjured in the back seat, NewsNation affiliate KXAN reported.
Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said an off-duty officer reported a man cutting him off in traffic just after 12:30 a.m. and then pointing a gun at him.
“The officer fired at the suspect at this point. Multiple rounds were fired by the officer,” Manley said. The officer called 911 and continued to follow the car south down Wickersham Lane near Oltorf Street in southeast Austin.
Eventually the car came to a stop at around 12:37 a.m., and responding on-duty officers arrived, according to police.
Manley said the officers told the man in English and Spanish to get away from his car and to put his hands in the air, but he did not listen. Manley said the man instead walked around the car to the rear passenger-side door and reached inside.
“As he reaches into the vehicle, the on-duty Austin police officer fired shots at him, striking him at that moment and then he goes down,” Manley said.
Officers pronounced the man dead at the scene. They also found what they believe is his gun.
“We have located a firearm where this scene ended where the car is right now and that is believed to be the same firearm,” Manley said.
They also found the woman who had been in the passenger seat was shot and there was an uninjured baby.
Manley did not say how the woman was shot or who shot her. She is 33-years-old. Emergency crews took her to a local hospital, where she had surgery.
Manley said her vital signs are currently stable. As for the baby, Manley said they’re trying to get the child reunited with family members.
“We also know that there was an infant child in this car who was not injured, who was also transported to the hospital with APD victim services and are working on placement arrangements for that child,” Manley said.
Manley declined to comment on what led to the initial shooting.
“Well I’m not going to speculate about what led up to any of this, Manley said. “I can only put out the facts that we know right now and that is as our officer turned onto Wickersham he said this car cut around him, pulled up beside him and again pointed a firearm at him.”
Manley said body cameras that the arriving officers were wearing captured the deadly shooting and the man reaching into his vehicle.
The off-duty officer was not wearing a body cam, so there was no video of the initial confrontation or shooting. Manley is asking the public for help.
“We’re asking anyone that was in this neighborhood that saw any part of this interaction to please call us and identify yourself so we can interview you. If you have video of this interaction, that will be very important with our ongoing investigation,” Manley said.
Both officers involved in the shooting are on administrative leave. One officer has been with the department for five years. The other two years. Neither was hurt. Manley did not clarify which one was the off-duty officer or on-duty officer.
He said this will be a lengthy investigation.
“This is a very dynamic and unfolding investigation right now as I’ve laid out and there’s a lot of work that will continue through the early morning and throughout the day today,” he said.