KUT Radio, Austin's NPR Station
Suspect in police shooting ran into house, was shot by homeowner before arrest, APD chief says
By Andrew Weber, Katy McAfee, Andy Jechow, Greta Díaz González Vázquez
September 10, 2025 at 6:31 AM CDT
An Austin police officer and an unidentified woman were shot near Barton Springs on Wednesday morning.
The Austin Police Department said the officer is in stable condition at Dell Seton Hospital. Mayor Kirk Watson said on X that the officer is out of surgery. The woman who was shot is not expected to survive, Police Chief Lisa Davis said at a news conference.
The wounded officer was patrolling Zilker Park early Wednesday on a routine curfew check when he came upon a car reported as stolen, Davis said. The officer called in a tow truck, she said, and then a man and a woman came out from the tree line. The officer told the pair to show their hands, and the man allegedly shot the woman in the back of the head before firing at the officer.
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"I think it's important to note, too, at that point immediately after that, we didn't have a suspect in custody," Davis said. "SWAT arrived, five K-9 officers arrived with their dogs, Air 1 was up, there was a huge hunt on for this suspect."
The suspect fled the scene, Davis said, arriving at Barton Hills Elementary just as classes were beginning. An Austin ISD police officer called 911 and the suspect fled into the Barton Hills neighborhood. He allegedly ran into a house and was shot in the arm and leg by the homeowner, Davis said.
Police locked down parts of the neighborhood until just before 9 a.m., but the text-based alert system was inconsistent. Austinites received a shelter-in-place text at 5:28 a.m. only to have it lifted at 6:33, when police said the suspect was still at large. The shelter order officially lifted around 9 a.m.
Davis didn't have answers about the confusion, but said she was looking into it.
“I have serious concerns about why that happened myself," she said. "And I know there's questions about that, and I will get to the bottom of why that happened and ensure that there's processes in place to ensure that it does not happen again. So that never should have been changed.”
Shortly before 8 a.m., Austin ISD announced two-hour delays at Austin High School, Barton Hills Elementary, O. Henry Middle and Zilker Elementary schools, but some students were already at school while the shooter was at large. It's unclear whether APD gave the go-ahead to AISD to allow classes to resume.
KUT News reached out to the district for clarification, but has not yet heard back.
Austin ISD Police Chief Wayne Sneed didn’t speak to the confusion, but said he believes the AISD sergeant who reported seeing the suspect on the Barton Hills campus “saved other people’s lives.”
“We work very closely on a daily basis. Our schools do not live in silos,” he said. “They're in communities.”
Davis said more details on the suspect and the alert system will be released at a news conference Friday.
Police are asking for the public's help for more information about the shooting. People can submit videos and photos here, call APD at 512-974-TIPS or submit a tip anonymously through the Capital Area Crime Stoppers Program at 512-472-8477.
This is a developing story.
The Austin Police Department said the officer is in stable condition at Dell Seton Hospital. Mayor Kirk Watson said on X that the officer is out of surgery. The woman who was shot is not expected to survive, Police Chief Lisa Davis said at a news conference.
The wounded officer was patrolling Zilker Park early Wednesday on a routine curfew check when he came upon a car reported as stolen, Davis said. The officer called in a tow truck, she said, and then a man and a woman came out from the tree line. The officer told the pair to show their hands, and the man allegedly shot the woman in the back of the head before firing at the officer.
(1080x1350, AR: 0.8)
"I think it's important to note, too, at that point immediately after that, we didn't have a suspect in custody," Davis said. "SWAT arrived, five K-9 officers arrived with their dogs, Air 1 was up, there was a huge hunt on for this suspect."
The suspect fled the scene, Davis said, arriving at Barton Hills Elementary just as classes were beginning. An Austin ISD police officer called 911 and the suspect fled into the Barton Hills neighborhood. He allegedly ran into a house and was shot in the arm and leg by the homeowner, Davis said.
Police locked down parts of the neighborhood until just before 9 a.m., but the text-based alert system was inconsistent. Austinites received a shelter-in-place text at 5:28 a.m. only to have it lifted at 6:33, when police said the suspect was still at large. The shelter order officially lifted around 9 a.m.
Davis didn't have answers about the confusion, but said she was looking into it.
“I have serious concerns about why that happened myself," she said. "And I know there's questions about that, and I will get to the bottom of why that happened and ensure that there's processes in place to ensure that it does not happen again. So that never should have been changed.”
Shortly before 8 a.m., Austin ISD announced two-hour delays at Austin High School, Barton Hills Elementary, O. Henry Middle and Zilker Elementary schools, but some students were already at school while the shooter was at large. It's unclear whether APD gave the go-ahead to AISD to allow classes to resume.
KUT News reached out to the district for clarification, but has not yet heard back.
Austin ISD Police Chief Wayne Sneed didn’t speak to the confusion, but said he believes the AISD sergeant who reported seeing the suspect on the Barton Hills campus “saved other people’s lives.”
“We work very closely on a daily basis. Our schools do not live in silos,” he said. “They're in communities.”
Davis said more details on the suspect and the alert system will be released at a news conference Friday.
Police are asking for the public's help for more information about the shooting. People can submit videos and photos here, call APD at 512-974-TIPS or submit a tip anonymously through the Capital Area Crime Stoppers Program at 512-472-8477.
This is a developing story.