AUSTIN, Texas — A Southwest Austin man, who had been in a standoff with police after firing a gun from the residence when city code personnel came to cut his lawn, was fatally shot by police Wednesday afternoon.
The man, who was described by police only as being in his 50s, was not immediately identified by Austin police on Wednesday night, pending notification of his family, Chief Joe Chacon said.
City code enforcement and Austin police personnel had an administrative warrant to conduct lawn maintenance at the home in the Circle C Ranch neighborhood off Escarpment Boulevard.
They were visiting the home around 9:15 a.m. Wednesday, said officer Jose Mendez, a police spokesman.
"At some point during the maintenance process, personnel on scene began taking fire from the resident inside," Mendez said. "Officers and personnel on scene were able to escape the gunfire and get to safety."
No one was reported injured.
“They attempted to cut the lawn for him, and this is the reaction they got,” Mendez said.
SWAT officers arrived at the home around 10:45 a.m., joined by mental health officers and a crisis negotiator, Chacon said. The neighborhood was closed to traffic, Kiker Elementary School was placed on lockdown and nearby residents were asked to stay in place.
The man, who had not communicated with police, then began firing at officers behind the residence during the standoff at around 3:20 p.m., Chacon said.
When a police robot was then sent through the front entrance of the home, its cameras showed that a fire had started inside the home and was spreading quickly.
Austin firefighters then responded to the home as it became fully engulfed in flames and police believed the man might have succumbed to the smoke.
But as the fire spread through the man's home, around 3:40 p.m. he exited through the garage "with weapons in hand," Chacon said. A SWAT officer then opened fire.
Police disarmed the man, pulled him from the home and tried to treat him at the scene. He was taken to a hospital where he died from his injuries around 4 p.m., the chief said.
The identity of the SWAT officer involved in the shooting of the man was not released Wednesday, but Chacon said the officer has been with the Austin Police Department for eight years.
The officer will be placed on administrative duty while concurrent internal and criminal investigations take place, which is standard protocol anytime deadly force is used.
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