Unarmed teen fatally shot by Austin officers in suspected 'suicide by police'

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AUSTIN, Texas — A 17-year-old fatally shot by police officers in northeast Austin early Friday morning may have been trying to commit suicide by police, according to the department.

Austin 911 received a call at 3:51 a.m. reporting that a young person was in a parking lot in the 10100 block of Baden Lane with what appeared to be a gun in his waistband. The caller said the person kept "messing with his waistband" and appeared to be brandishing the weapon, though the caller said he wasn't certain what he had seen.

Officers arrived within two minutes and found a person matching that description on a playground near a community park in the same block, Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said. Officers gave the teen verbal commands to keep his hands up and asked if he was okay.
Body camera footage released by police shows officers repeatedly telling the teen to keep his hands up before he lifted his shirt and reached toward his waistband. At 4:02 a.m., Officers Jake Pitcher, Alexis Cruz and Avery Zucchi opened fire, according to APD.

Officers secured the scene and began performing medical aid, and Austin-Travis County EMS continued life-saving efforts after arriving, but the teen was pronounced dead at 4:25 a.m.

No firearm was found. Investigators later determined that a water bottle had been in his waistband, Davis said. Police also determined that the original 911 call had come from the teen's own phone and that he was the one who had made it, leading investigators to believe the incident was "potentially a suicide by police."

Categories: Police

Tags: Texas police