Austin police fatally shoot man in wheelchair holding replica gun
Austin police news conference on deadly shooting: FULL
Austin Police take questions after an officer shot and killed a man who pointed a replica pistol at them.
AUSTIN - Police are investigating an officer-involved shooting that killed a man in a wheelchair in South Austin.
As police divert traffic off William Cannon Drive near Menchaca Road on Saturday, an empty wheelchair sits in the middle of a crime scene.
What they're saying:
"No officer comes to work, gets ready, puts his uniform on and walks out the door wanting to be in an officer-involved shooting," said Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis. "These take their toll."
Austin police said that at around 10 a.m., they got multiple 911 calls about a man in a wheelchair blocking traffic and pointing a gun.
One officer on the scene reported seeing that gun in the man's lap.
When APD arrived, the man began moving up the bridge and away from police until he turned around and pointed his weapon.
Police said they asked him to drop it multiple times, but the interaction ended in six rounds of gunfire from an officer.
"The thing is to have a gun and pointed at you, that’s the ramifications of that," said Davis.
The man in the wheelchair died, and when officers retrieved his gun, they found that it was a Glock replica BB gun.
"I think these are complex issues that absolutely occur in the matter of split seconds, and that’s what these officers have to deal with on a daily basis," said Davis.
Witnesses recount the events
"Even my mother called me saying, like, 'hey, are you okay?' cause she like even heard about it, saying like, hey, there’s a shooting going on," said Brandon Espitia, who works at the Shipley's Donuts down the street.
"All we just saw was cops and EMS and the fire department just driving so fast that way," said Espitia.
Just before the shooting, he said a man came into their store matching the description.
"A guy in the wheelchair with one leg, just one leg, he walked in here and just started talking really fast," said Espitia. "Really fast. Asking for a job application."
Police have not yet identified the man, but they say no one else, including the officer, was injured.
"A seriously unfortunate incident that no one wants to be involved in," said Davis. "These cops don't want to be involved in these situations. The citizens here in this community, again, it's just a tragic incident."
Deadly Police Shooting
What we know:
Police say they received calls around 9:50 a.m. for a man blocking traffic in a wheelchair on West William Cannon Drive, not far from Menchaca Road.
911 callers told dispatchers that the person pointed a gun at them.
When officers arrived at the scene, they were told the man had a gun in his lap. One of the officers also reported seeing the gun.
An officer gave the man multiple commands to drop the gun.
Police say the suspect then pointed the gun at the officer and the officer fired six rounds, killing the man.
The gun that was recovered from the scene was found to be a Glock replica BB gun, according to police.
No officers were injured.
What we don't know:
Austin police say they will release more information about the shooting on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week.
The name of the man who was shot has not been released.
What you can do:
Austin police are the public to share any photos or videos with the department through this link.
Anyone with "detailed information" about the shooting can email [email protected] or call 512-974-5032.
The Source: Information in this article comes from the Austin Police Department.