Police fatally shoot armed man in Southeast Austin after he threatened to kill hostage

Police shot and killed the armed driver of a stolen vehicle after an hourslong SWAT standoff in Southeast Austin on Tuesday, according to the Austin Police Department.

The man was pronounced dead at the hospital, the department said in a post on X around 6:30 p.m. No officers or other people were injured.

Police have not identified the man as of Monday morning.

At a press conference Tuesday night, interim Austin Police Chief Robin Henderson said officers spotted a stolen vehicle at a Texaco gas station on the intersection of Salt Springs Drive and Thaxton Road. When officers approached the driver inside the gas station shop, he refused to leave.

They noticed he was armed and commanded that he drop the gun, but the man did not comply, prompting SWAT to be called out, Henderson said. He barricaded himself inside the store. The business owner told police his employee was inside the store and had locked himself inside an office, Henderson said.

She said negotiations between police and the man continued for several hours. On the scene, officers could be heard yelling that the man was considered "armed and dangerous" and demanding that he come out with his hands empty and open.

Officers observed the suspect pacing inside the store with a gun in his hand and saw him pour lighter fluid on the business's counter while making suicidal threats, Henderson said.

Hostage negotiators urged him to come out of the store peacefully at various times, but he refused to comply and threatened violence toward police. He confirmed he knew there was another person inside the store, Henderson said.

He fired his gun at police several times during the incident, Henderson said. Around 4:40 p.m., Austin police could be heard telling the man to "stop shooting" at officers. Police fired pepper ball rounds into the store and at the gunman in an effort to get him to comply.

He continued to pour lighter fluid inside the store while holding a lighter in his hand, Henderson said. At 4:49 p.m. police observed that he was making a Molotov cocktail by pouring lighter fluid into a container with a rag, Henderson said. Police feared that if he lit the cocktail and used it in the area where he had poured lighter fluid, he could kill or seriously injure the trapped store employee.

At about 4:50 p.m., an officer shot the man, and police were then able to extract the uninjured employee. The gunman was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Henderson said.

Per Austin Police Department protocol, the department will release body-worn camera and drone footage in 10 business days, Henderson said. The officer who shot and killed the gunman has been placed on administrative leave. That officer has 16 years of law enforcement experience.

The shooting is being investigated by the Police Department's special investigations unit and the Travis County district attorney's office.

This is a developing story. Check back later for more information.  

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin police fatally shoot armed man after hourslong SWAT standoff