A suspect seen pouring lighter fluid around a convenience store and crafting a Molotov cocktail during a lengthy standoff in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday, May 21, was shot and killed by a police officer, the Austin Police Department said.
During a press conference Tuesday night, interim Police Chief Robin Henderson said the standoff began at around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday when officers on Salt Springs Drive spotted a vehicle that had been reported stolen. The vehicle pulled into a gas station at the intersection of Salt Springs Drive and Thaxton Road, and the driver entered the store.
Officers followed the armed suspect into the store and ordered him to drop the gun, Henderson said. When the suspect refused to comply, officers backed out of the store and called for a SWAT team as the suspect barricaded himself inside.
One employee who fled the store informed officers that another employee was trapped in a locked office inside.
As the standoff continued, officers observed the suspect pacing and pouring lighter fluid over the counter, and heard him making "suicidal threats," Henderson said.
Hostage negotiators urged the suspect to come out of the store, but he refused to comply, Henderson revealed. Instead, he threatened officers and confirmed he knew there was another person inside the store.
"At several points during the incident, the suspect fired his gun at officers," Henderson continued.
The suspect continued to pour lighter fluid all over the store, as he held a lighter in his hand. Officers fired pepper balls into the store at the suspect, but he still refused to comply with commands to leave the store, Henderson shared.
At around 4:49 p.m., officers observed the suspect crafting an "improvised incendiary device," described as a container of lighter fluid with a rag, otherwise known as a Molotov cocktail.
Deciding the device posed an imminent deadly threat, an officer shot the suspect. Officers immediately entered the store and freed the trapped employee.
The suspect was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He was not immediately identified.
Henderson stated there were no other injuries during the standoff.
The officer who fired on the suspect, who was not identified, has been placed on leave pending an investigation by police and the district attorney's office, Henderson said.
—TMX contributed to this report.