TRAGIC ENDING

Four Dead, Including SWAT Officer, in Austin Hostage Incident

It was the first time in a decade that an Austin officer was killed on duty.

Police in Austin, Texas, are investigating a hostage situation that ended with four people dead, including a member of the department’s SWAT team. Cops responded early Saturday after receiving a 911 call from a woman who had been stabbed. When officers arrived, they found an injured victim who’d escaped. But police were forced to retreat after the suspect opened fire, and SWAT arrived nearly an hour later. When SWAT entered the building, the suspect shot two officers, killing one and marking the first time in a decade that an Austin officer was killed on duty. The shooter and two hostages were found dead in the home. At press time, the victims and shooter had not yet been identified. “I am heartbroken and praying for the family of the officer who we have lost and for (a second injured) officer and his family as we lift him up and hope he is OK,” Mayor Kirk Watson said.