An almost 18-hour-long standoff continued early Monday in a suburban Texas neighborhood where three responding officers were injured in an exchange of gunfire. A suspect stays in a house, and keeps three family members hostile.
From 4:30 a.m. local time, Cedar Park police directed residents at Natalie Cove in the Heritage Park subdivision to stay indoors.
“It’s still unsafe to leave because we’re working on an active scene where there is a suspicious barrier in his house,” the tweet said. “Please do not go until we say it is safe to do so.”
3 POLICE OFFICERS SHOT IN CEDAR PARK, TEXAS, SUSPECT BARRICADED IN HOME
Police first responded to a house on Natalie Cove in Cedar Park, 25 miles north of Austin, at 3 p.m. Sunday, after a woman called to report her son, in his 20s, had a door upstairs and was aggressive performance. Officials entered the house and were hit by gunfire.
Officers fired back and attacked the suspect, said interim Cedar Park Police Chief Mike Harmon. Three officers were wounded and pulled back outside. The suspect then barricaded himself in the house with his mother, a minor under 18, and a third relative.
Several law enforcement agencies responded to the shooting at a home on Natalie Cove in the Heritage Park suburb of Cedar Park, Texas.
“We want to end this peacefully. That’s our main goal, ”Harmon told a news conference at a nearby intersection at 9pm local time on Sunday, before addressing the gunman. “Please as you listen to this, please come away and surrender yourself with peace so that we may resolve this situation of today.”
Harmon said law enforcement has been in contact with the suspect’s relatives, who said he has to deal with “some mental health issues.” Neither the gunman nor the three family members in the house have been publicly named by authorities.
The three Cedar Park police dogs injured in the incident were taken to hospitals in the area, where they remained in stable condition on Sunday night. They sustained injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening. One hit a gun in the arm, a second was shot in the chest but was protected by a bulletproof vest, and a bullet hit the head of the third officer, Fox 7 Austin reported.
The Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Rangers, SWAT, Round Rock Police, Leander Police, and the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office responded to the situation of the active shooter, The Statesman reported. Emergency vehicles lined the streets at Heritage Park Drive and Baghdad Road on Sunday afternoon when law enforcement helicopters also circled the circle.
Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, issued a statement Sunday thanking law enforcement for their sacrifice and asked Texans to participate in prayer for the three officers injured in the line of duty.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“Our heart goes out to the police officers who were injured in protecting the Cedar Park community this afternoon. We must never take the service and sacrifice of our law enforcement officers into account, and the state of Texas is ready. to provide the support and resources needed to bring justice to those involved, “Abbott said. “I ask that all Texans join Cecilia and me in prayer for these officers, and for the safety of all lawmakers in the state.”
Fox Givas of Fox News contributed to this report.
