Three people are shot dead in Austin with gunman remaining on the loose

1.1k

View
comments

A sheriff’s detective has turned active shooter and killed three adults in Austin, Texas after being put on unpaid leave over child sex claims, as SWAT teams and FBI agents issued a shelter at home order amid fears the gunman could take a hostage. 

Stephen Nicholas Broderick, 41, was confirmed by police as the suspect in the rampage on Sunday at an apartment complex, in what investigators are calling a ‘domestic situation’.

Broderick personally knew the two women and one man who were shot dead, and a child was involved in the incident but is now safely under police protection, police said. 

Broderick is a former Travis County Sheriff’s Detective who was put on unpaid leave last June after he was charged with raping a 16-year-old girl, authorities confirmed. 

Helicopters, SWAT teams and FBI agents are now involved in a frenzied search for Broderick, and police are urging anyone who sees him to consider him armed and dangerous and call 911. 

‘At this point we do not think that this individual is out targeting random people to shoot them — that does not mean that he is not dangerous,’ Austin Police Chief Joseph Chacon said.

Scroll down for video.  

‘He is still at large, we do think that he is armed, and he is still very much dangerous,’ Chacon said. 

Chacon said that the exact relationship between the suspect and the victims was still unclear, and he was also unable to say whether the minor who was involved was the child of any of the victims. 

Broderick was arrested last June 6 on a charge of sexually assaulting a child, and spent 16 days behind bars before posting a $50,000 bail.

The alleged assault took place in a home in Elgin, a town about 20 miles east of Austin, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. The victim made an outcry to her her mother, who took her for a medical exam that confirmed the abuse.

Sunday’s shooting took place in an apartment complex in The Arboretum neighborhood on the northwest side of Austin. 

Shots were first reported Sunday in a 911 call at 11.42am CT, with Austin Police Department at 1pm confirming that the shooter was still active. 

In a second release 40 minutes later, APD said the incident is believed to be a ‘domestic situation’ and suggested the gunman did not pose a risk to the wider public. 

However, Chacon later told reporters at a press conference that police were advising people to shelter at home over fears the shooter could ‘take a hostage’. 

He said police were no longer treating the case as an active shooter incident but ‘danger remains high’. 

Chief Chacon said cops were on the scene four minutes after receiving reports that shots have been fired. 

He identified the victims as two Hispanic women and one black man. 

Describing the suspect, he said:  ‘We think we know our suspect, Stephen Nicholas Broderick, 41. 

‘We are concerned he might possibly take a hostage and be himself sheltered somewhere waiting for us to leave.’ 

He said Broderick is 5 feet, 7 inches (1.7 meters) tall and Black. He was wearing a gray hoodie, sunglasses and a baseball cap. 

Chacon continued: ‘We don’t know if he’s on a vehicle or on foot. We are asking individuals to continue sheltering in place because this is still an active.’

Asked if the suspect was a former detective facing child sex charges also called Stephen Broderick, Chief Chacon initially refused to confirm this but later confirmed the suspect ‘at one time was a deputy with the Travis County Sheriff’s office.’

Also also said that a child was involved in Sunday’s incident but was unharmed and is now with police.     

Broderick was arrested on June 6 by the U.S. Marshals Service and charged with sexual assault of a child. He was placed on administrative leave without pay and later resigned from Travis County Sheriff’s Office. 

The arrest affidavit seen by the Austin American-Statesman said the child sex assault happened at a home in Elgin. The victim cried to her mother, who took the child for an examination and doctors confirmed the abuse.       

The property crimes detective was booked into jail and spent 16 days behind bars prior to posting bail, which was set at $50,000.

Court and public records show that Broderick’s wife filed for a protective order and divorce shortly after her husband’s arrest. 

The Austin-Travis County EMS said Sunday that three adults had been killed but it had not received reports of any other victims. 

Josh Katzowitz, who had been shopping at the nearby Trader Joe’s, said police and ambulances came ‘pouring in’ to the area as he was leaving.

He didn’t hear any shooting.

‘The cops had their guns out,’ he said. ‘Some had pistols, some had rifles and they were strapping on bulletproof vests. 

‘There were all of a sudden ambulances, sirens and police cars There were cops coming from everywhere.’  

Austin Police Department tweeted at 1.40pm CT: ‘APD is currently on scene of an active shooting incident at Great Hills Trail and Rain Creek Parkway. 

‘All residents are advised to shelter in place and avoid the area. PIO en route. – PIO8.’ 

The department added 40 minutes later: ‘At this time the Great Hills Trail scene is still active. We are still asking residents to shelter in place and report suspicious activity. 

‘While a suspect is still at large it appears this is a domestic situation that is isolated and there is no risk to the general public.’ 

EMS spokeswoman Capt. Christa Stedman said early Sunday afternoon that the first 911 call came in at 11.44am CT.

Images from the scene showed a large presence of emergency responders.

Steadman said she did not know the exact location where the three people were killed.

She said they responded to an area that included a strip mall, several retail stores with a large apartment complex behind it.