APD investigating officer involved shooting on 6th St. in downtown Austin
The Austin Police Department said a 24-year-old man is dead after an officer involved shooting in downtown.
Witnesses said a video posted on YouTube captured moments leading up an officer involved shooting early Sunday morning on 6th Street in Downtown Austin.
They said the man who was shot was involved in a fight outside a bar.
APD Interim Chief Brian Manley said officers working on 6th street, heard a gunshot in the area, so back at headquarters they went through HALO surveillance video of the area.
“They did in fact find video that captured the suspect in this incident firing a pistol into the air,” he said. A description was sent out to officers and the suspect, a 24-year-old black man was found within minutes. When officers approached him, Manley said he took off running. Officers chased him to near Trinity Street where they said he turned around and fired a gun at them. Two officers shot back.
The man was taken to the hospital where he later died.
Manley said evidence found at the scene is in line with what his officer’s say happened. “We do have a casing that was recovered in front of the night club where the initial incident started with the shots fired and we have another one in the 600 block of trinity where the shooting happened with the officers and the suspect fired at them,” he said.
The two officers involved, a sergeant who's been with APD 18-years and an officer with 7-years on the force are on paid administrative duty while the incident is being investigated which is standard procedure.
Manley said it's a tragic event for all those involved, “I do want to express my condolences to the family of this man. It's a young life that was lost and this is nothing that a police officer wants to be involved in. Police officers don't wake up and go to work wanting to be involved in critical incidents, but unfortunately these incidents do happen."
Chief Manley is asking anyone who witnessed anything or may have captured video on their phones to contact APD at 512-472-TIPS.