North Austin Police Standoff Ends Peacefully

NORTH AUSTIN, TEXAS — An hours-long police SWAT standoff with a barricaded person ended peacefully early Wednesday morning, law enforcement officials said.

Police originally were dispatched to The Palms on Lamar apartment complex, 8552 N. Lamar Blvd., at around 12:40 a.m. after receiving an urgent "check welfare" call. Officer Marcos Johnson told reporters the person made threats of self-harm before fleeing to an apartment as police approached. The subject then made threats of harm to arriving police, Johnson said, prompting the SWAT call.

Through the early morning hours Wednesday, police negotiators tried coaxing the person out toward a peaceful resolution to the standoff. Johnson said some of the surrounding residents were evacuated from their homes as an added safety precaution, but did not disclose the number of impacted residents.

By 4:12 a.m., police tweeted to report the peaceful resolution to the standoff after the person finally exited the apartment. No injuries were reported.

The presence of a police bomb squad at the scene raised questions from reporters, but Johnson declined to specify why those team members were sent to the scene. Typically, police send out the entire arsenal of tools to locations of barricaded people, from bomb-neutralizing equipment to robots capable of breaching doors.

Few other details were available, including the approximate age and gender of the barricaded person. Johnson told reporters it was unclear if the person was alone or if there were others in the apartment.

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