Bag of knives found, may be linked to Sunday's knife attack

A back-pack containing knives, that may be linked to Sunday’s officer-involved shooting, has been found. The bag was located not far from where the incident began.

It was initially discovered by employees of a North I-35 furniture store and reported to APD by a FOX 7 News crew.

An Austin Police officer secured a loading dock Monday afternoon where a back-pack, filled with personal items and several knives, was discovered.

The bag was left at CORT furniture, which is next door to a food market, where a knife wielding man reportedly harassed and threatened customers Sunday evening.

"While the officers were in route, the complainant stated they were locking the doors to their business,” said APD Chief of Staff Brian Manley.

The man, according to investigators, ran across I-35 after police units arrived, he then went down the southbound frontage road and later tried to hide behind a business owned by Brandon Sorrells. His security camera system captured what happened next.

Through a gap, along the back fence line, a flash from a metallic object can be seen. Moments later a man jumps over the fence as several police officers, with their guns and Tasers drawn, try to stop him. Sorrells said the officers showed a lot of restraint as the moved in.

"I'm glad they caught him, so … nobody got hurt, pretty much,” said Sorrells.

The man got hung up on the fence but eventually was able to briefly get over the top. His escape was brief because on the other side was another police officer armed with a shot gun.

"We can hear on the in car camera multiple commands to drop the knives, we can hear the officer broadcast to dispatch that he has the suspect at gun point, giving him commands but he is not compliant, again multiple commands to drop the knives, and at this point you can hear gun fire on the in car camera,” said Manley.

The man was hit in the shoulder, but was able to run into a neighborhood where he was later bitten by a police dog while being taken into custody. As he recovered from his wounds, the backpack with the knives was processed by a crime scene tech.  All of the items from the bag were taken to APD's forensic lab for further analysis.

Formal charges may be filed by Tuesday. The police officer who fired his shotgun has not been identified, but is on administrative duty, which is standard procedure.