APD Officer Shoots and Kills Armed Suspect
One man was killed by an Austin police officer early this morning in Southeast Austin. About 1:00, police responded to a "shots fired" call in an apartment complex on Burton Drive, near East Oltorf Street.
"The suspect's a male Hispanic, about—approximately 29 years of age. And what occurred in this incident is he was trying to gain entry by shooting into—at a apartment door, trying to get into a house where his ex-girlfriend resided," said Police Chief Art Acevedo.
Acevedo said one of the responding officers saw the man with a handgun and opened fire with a shotgun. That suspect was later pronounced dead at University Medical Center-Brackenridge.
Three people in the apartment were uninjured. The officer involved in the shooting has been placed on paid administrative leave. Police are still investigating the shooting.
New Wildfires Burning in West Texas
Dozens of homes have been evacuated as extreme wildfire conditions over the weekend led to new blazes being sparked Sunday. Trans-Pecos firefighting team spokesman Ed Brown said strong winds, coupled with dry, hot air allowed a fire near Alpine to quickly burn across hundreds of acres, according to the AP:
Southwest winds of 10 to 15 mph and relative humidity readings of 2 percent carried the flames toward Alpine, with juniper trees fueling 50-foot-tall flames. Three C-130 aircraft and smaller air tankers assisted the firefighting effort, but the fire had scorched 3,500 acres by nightfall, when Brown said it was 10 percent contained.
Windy conditions with low humidity are expected to last through much of the week.
UT President To Weigh In On Future Of University
University of Texas at Austin President Bill Powers will deliver what's being called a major speech on the future of the university. It comes on the heels of a controversy over research and higher education priorities, sparked by the hiring (and quick firing) of higher ed reformer Rick O'Donnell. That speech will be webcast here. It begins at 11 a.m.
