Family violence call turns into SWAT situation at North Austin apartment complex

The Austin Police Department (APD) says a family violence call turned into a SWAT situation at a North Austin apartment complex Saturday morning.

APD says that just before 5:30 a.m. April 30, a woman called 911 in distress to report family violence at the Melrose Trail Apartment Homes on Heinemann Drive off McNeil Drive. However, there were not enough officers to respond as they were on other calls, so it took some time to get to her.

Officers were able to get the woman out of the apartment, but the suspect, who was her boyfriend, was still inside with two children, says APD. Officers tried to make contact with him, but he would not come out. 

The woman told officers that he had weapons inside and that he had stated before that he would get in a shootout with police if she ever called the police on him, says APD.

APD then called in the SWAT team, which set up a perimeter and was able to get the children and another person not involved in the incident out of the apartment. The suspect was also removed from the apartment and went to the hospital for minor injuries, says APD.

The woman and the two children are safe and there is no ongoing threat to the public, says APD. It is also unknown at this time if the suspect had a prior history with APD.