AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- One Austin Police officer is dead and another was wounded during a SWAT situation in Southwest Austin overnight.
APD interim chief Robin Henderson said officers were called to the scene in the 9300 block of Bernoulli Drive just before 3 a.m. Saturday morning. That's just off of West Gate Boulevard, between Slaughter Lane and Davis Lane.
Henderson, who was visibly shaken during a morning press briefing, said a 911 caller told dispatchers at 2:49 a.m. that she had been stabbed. Dispatchers could hear the woman screaming for help.
Patrol officers arrived on the scene less than 10 minutes later, at 2:57 a.m. They learned two other victims were injured inside the residence with the suspect, Henderson said, which prompted them to try and force entry into the home to rescue the victims.
The suspect opened fire on the officers, which prompted them to retreat. The officers did not return fire at that point, Henderson said.
A third victim was able to escape from the residence and made contact with first responders. That victim was transported to a nearby hospital, Henderson said.
SWAT was then called out to the scene, and around 4:11 a.m. another attempt to force entry into the home was made. The suspect again exchanged gunfire with officers, striking two of them.
Both officers were transported to the hospital; one officer succumbed to their injuries while another underwent surgery and was in stable condition, Henderson said.
The suspect was fatally wounded during the exchange with officers, and was pronounced deceased on the scene. Two other victims inside the home suffered fatal injuries and were also pronounced deceased.
"My heart and the hearts of Austinites are broken this morning," a statement from Austin Mayor Kirk Watson posted to X reads. "This is a horrible moment for our city and those who protect us."
It's the first time in more than a decade that an APD officer has been shot and killed in the line of duty, dating back to the April 2012 shooting of Officer Jaime Padron.
A post on X from the Austin Police Retired Officers Association asked for prayers for the fallen officer's family and the speedy recovery of the wounded officer.
Henderson said the incident was captured on multiple body-worn cameras. The officers who fired their weapons will be placed on administrative duty, pending the outcome of two concurrent investigations into the incident.
The deceased officer's identity has not been released.