The hostage situation in South Austin that ended with the suspect dead and two Austin police officers injured could have been a lot worse, said Austin Police Association President Ken Casaday.
Daylight revealed an active scene at 5500 Ponciana Drive just north of Stassney Lane Monday, hours after the SWAT team responded and ended the threat. SWAT armored vehicles remained in the middle of the street. Yellow police crime scene tape blocked off several parts of Ponciana Drive as investigators continued to work.
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It was a surprising scene for Dove Springs neighbor, Jessica Welch, who has lived in the neighborhood for 16 years.
"Especially after the bombings? I didn't think something like this could happen so close," said Welch.
It all started Sunday night when police said officers responded to the residence after someone called 911 and hung up.
When residents from one side of the duplex said they didn't call 911, officers tried the other side.
No one answered. As the officers were leaving, police said shots were fired, injuring one officer.
And according to Casaday, this is where the rookie police officer, just a few months out of the academy, stepped up.
She returned fire.
And that's not all.
"Not only was she able to get away and help her field training officer get away who had been shot but she was able to apply a tourniquet and save his life," said Casaday.
Casaday said the rookie officer was able to pull off what some senior officers may not have been able to.
"Your adrenaline is going a thousand miles an hour, not only are you thinking about taking care of yourself, but you have the responsibility of taking care of your partner," said Casaday.
By the time SWAT responded, Casaday said the tension was higher for this call than most others.
For one thing, the suspect was already firing shots when SWAT arrived.
Plus, "The reason this call-out was so dangerous was because officers were responding to a scene where there's possibly a hostage and someone you care about and are around everyday gets shot," said Casaday.
In the end, police said SWAT killed the suspect without harming the hostage or anyone else.
The officer who was shot was treated and released from the hospital.
The SWAT officer who shot and killed the suspect has been placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure.
This is the sixth member of the 24-member SWAT team that the team has recently lost -- four to officer-involved shootings and two to criminal indictments.
Casaday said SWAT has a Gold Team that fills in for the officers who are temporarily on leave.