Phoenix Police Identify Dead Standoff Shooter: Michael Austin

PHOENIX, AZ — Phoenix Police on Monday identified the dead 32-year-old shooter in a multi-hour Phoenix police standoff Saturday as Michael Austin. The incident, which left three additional people shot and another injured, began Saturday just before 8 p.m. when police responded to a call describing an armed suspect and a family fight at 2800 E. Atlanta Ave. in Phoenix. Upon police arrival, the home’s residents wouldn’t open the door and claimed everyone was OK. Police observed no signs of trouble nor received any more calls, at that time anyway.

However, around 11:30 p.m. that night, police received a second call and reported back to the same house. This time, the call specifically said the suspect was not letting family members leave the house and was threatening to shoot them. The caller also indicated that the suspect had assaulted a 69-year-old woman who needed medical care.

The suspect shot at the officers as they approached the residence the second time that night, so the officers fell back and tried to approach the home a different way. But the suspect shot at them again. Special Assignment Unit officers were then called to the home, attempting suspect negotiations for “several hours,” according to Phoenix PD Public Information Sergeant Mercedes Fortune.

Officers observed that Austin’s threats were escalating, and Austin fired his gun. One of the Special Assignment Unit officers then shot at Austin as a diversion while other police accessed the home’s front door in an attempt to get the victims outside. As the police got to the front door, Austin was headed toward the house’s front, near the victims and still holding a gun. Special Assignment Unit officers shot at the suspect again while other officers entered the house.

Police got the victims out of the house and sent them for medical care. The shot suspect was also taken outside the home and “provided life-saving measures,” according to a police report. However, he was pronounced dead.

Three others were also shot during the incident, a 36-year-old male officer, the 69-year-old woman and a 38-year-old woman, all of whom are still stable and recovering at the hospital, police reported today. A 34-year-old male officer was also injured when he was bitten by a police canine at the scene. A 34-year-old man at the incident was not injured.

Investigation of the shootout has been intensive, Fortune said in a statement Monday around 4 p.m. “Our investigators are still on scene at 2800 E. Atlanta Avenue collecting evidence. They have not stopped working on this case since it began.

“One of our officers was also hit during this gunfire. Determining what accurately occurred is part of any lengthy and intensive investigation. … Once all the evidence is collected, it must then be analyzed. This is an enormous undertaking, and we are working towards having a better understanding of what happened during this chaotic and tragic incident,” she said.

The Phoenix Police Department will continue to release more details as they become available.