AUSTIN, Texas — As a hostage situation that started more than three hours ago at a doctor's office in Central Austin continued Tuesday evening, SWAT negotiators could be heard calling out on a bullhorn to the hostage taker urging him to answer calls or text messages on his phone.
“Your life is very important to me,” a member of the SWAT team said over the loudspeaker. “And I know life is very important to you.”
The SWAT team's attempts to communicate with the people inside, which could be heard in the surrounding areas, suggested that an Austin doctor is one of the hostages and that another doctor may be the hostage taker.
“You don’t deserve to go through this ... for all you have done for others ... that is why I want to help you work through this. You have saved a lot of lives,” a hostage negotiator could be heard over the loudspeaker.
Police have not said how many people are being held or confirmed other details of the incident.
Austin police were notified of the incident around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. The hostages are being held at a doctor's office near the intersection of 35th Street and Jackson Avenue.
Some residents near the area have been evacuated and others have been asked to stay inside their homes. Some neighbors could be seen standing in nearby corners listening to the hostage negotiators' communications over the bullhorn.
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