An Austin police officer is recovering this morning after a violent shootout over the weekend in the city’s downtown area.
A burglary suspect was spotted on live surveillance video breaking into cars inside a parking garage, Sunday morning. A security guard started chasing after him, and knocked him down twice, but police say the suspect got back up and kept going.
That’s when an Austin police officer intervened and confronted the suspect, telling him numerous times: “Let me see your hands.”
The suspect then pulled out a gun and shot at the officer, hitting him in the lower abdomen, under his protective vest. The officer returned fire, killing the man- who’s been described only as a white man in his 30’s.
“I know they’ll give him as much time as he needs…the mental wounds in these cases, are sometimes a lot worse than the physical wounds,” said Ken Casaday, Austin Police Assoc. President.
The officer is reportedly surrounded by family and friends at the hospital and is in “good spirits.” The bullet has been removed and he is in stable condition, KXAN reported.
Austin PD’s chief said he’s thankful the security guard was there to assist the injured officer. “It’s very fortunate this young man who did a phenomenal job helping us out. It’s very fortunate he did not get shot by the suspect.”
The officer is a nine-year veteran of the force. He’s not being identified at this time.
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