Police in Northwest Austin Peacefully Avert a Tragedy

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By Marc “Kid Huevos” Livitz

More often than some of us may care to admit, our lives are made safer due to the selfless actions of neighborhood police. Just after 3PM CST this past Sunday afternoon, Cedar Park Police responded to an emergency call involving a family matter which quickly escalated to a hostage situation. Cedar Park is a northwest suburb of Austin and this incident occurred a short distance from my home. After responding to a 911 emergency call which involved the suspect, who is in his mid-20’s, kicking in the door of his mother’s house, the officers were met with gunfire upon arrival. All three of them were struck and taken to a hospital in nearby Round Rock. Fortunately, none of them suffered life-threatening injuries and are now in stable condition. As of Monday morning, two of them have been discharged and the remaining one required surgery.

The situation in Cedar Park quickly became a hostage crisis when the gunman kicked in the door, then barricaded himself inside the house along with his mother, brother and sister. Multiple law enforcement agencies quickly came to the aid of CPD, including Central Texas SWAT, Texas Rangers, Round Rock Police, The Williamson County Sheriff’s Department as well as the police department of neighboring Leander. At around 8AM CST, the CPD confirmed that two of the hostages had been released, which turned out to be the younger siblings of the gunman. This meant that only he and his mother remained inside. About an hour later and thanks to what were likely stressful negotiations, the standoff came to a peaceful end.

As the news began to trickle out on Sunday evening, we learned that the gunman had a history of mental illness and that police had visited the property on previous occasions. During the initial news conference conducted by CPD interim Chief of Police Mike Harmon, area viewers were informed that the suspect had, at some point gone live on Facebook during the ordeal. Furthermore, Harmon indicated twice, so that there would be no confusion that the only reliable source of information would be the CPD and not the world of social media, which was sadly awash with more negative comments than a rational person could digest. The understandable “thoughts and prayers” were on Twitter, yet of course, there were those who just had to take a swipe at gun laws in addition to some who clearly don’t understand the plague of mental illness.

If you’ve never had the internal struggle or don’t care to understand that it exists, then please, shut your mouth. As a magnificently written article on Ringside Report alluded to last week, the south still has its indelible stain of ignorance, which at times is coupled with a unfathomable “Stars and Bars” mentality. Not to be outdone, a handful of knuckle walkers praised the police but wondered why the suspect hadn’t been “greased” after so much time had passed in what turned out to be a 16-hour standoff.

Hopefully, the young man gets the help he needs and there’s no doubt that the freed hostages have had their lives changed forever. Recent news and a certain documentary on a premium cable network helped cast an incredibly negative light on the Cedar Park Police Department and rightfully so, yet there’s no question that the mission to protect and serve was carried out by Monday morning.

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