Bomb Threat Leads To Man's Arrest In North Austin

AUSTIN, TX — A man was detained after a bomb threat inside a bank branch in North Austin that led to an hours-long standoff and street closures on Thursday afternoon.

Police received a call just after 3:30 p.m. about a suspicious package inside a Bank of America branch along the service road of the 8600 block of Research Boulevard. Bank employees told police a man had entered the building before being directed inside an interior office space within the building.

Given the man's location inside the structure, Officer Destiny Silva later told reporters arriving officers were not able to initially communicate with him. With the help of bank employees inside the building, the officer added, contact was made with the man.

Because police believed the man had an explosive device, Silva said, a SWAT team was dispatched to the scene. After protracted negotiations to secure the man's exit from the building, the suspect emerged from the building but ignored police commands to submit — instead moving aggressively toward officers as the officer explained. As a result of his non-compliance, Silva said undisclosed "tactics" were taken to subdue the man.

No explosive device was found, and no injuries were reported. The motives behind the detained man's actions were not specified.

In a press briefing staged just after 6 p.m., Silva stressed the man had not been immediately charged but instead was transported to local hospital for further evaluation after being treated at the scene for undisclosed injuries. No other injuries were reported, Silva said, and no explosive device was ultimately found.

As a safety precaution, several area roadways were blocked off to traffic and cars were diverted to Fairfield Drive. The surrounding roads were later reopened once the threat was contained.