Suspect killed in officer-involved shooting in Southwest Austin identified: APD

AUSTIN, Texas - The Austin Police Department is continuing its investigation into a deadly officer-involved shooting in Southwest Austin.

Police said on May 21, around 12:36 p.m., officers spotted a stolen car in the 8000 block of Salt Springs Drive. 

The car pulled into a Texaco gas station, at 8101 Salt Springs Drive. Police later identified the suspect as 35-year-old Alfonso Gonzales.

Officers attempted to make contact with Gonzales in the parking lot. However, Gonzales turned away from officers and entered the store. 

As officers entered the store, they saw him with a gun in his hand. Officers then gave Gonzales commands to drop the gun. When he did not comply, officers backed out of the store and initiated a SWAT response since Gonzales was armed and barricaded inside the store.  

MORE: Suspect killed in SWAT call-turned officer-involved shooting in Southeast Austin

When officers spoke to an employee who had fled the store, they confirmed that another employee was trapped inside the store in a locked office. 

As other resources continued to respond, officers saw him pouring lighter fluid on the counter and heard him making suicidal threats. 

Police said negotiators urged him to come out of the store peacefully. At various times during these discussions, Gonzales refused to comply, threatened violence towards officers, and said he knew another person was inside the store.

At several points during the incident, Gonzales fired his gun at officers, and they saw him continuing to pour lighter fluid inside the store while holding a lighter in his hand. 

Officers attempted alternative routes in order to evacuate the employee trapped inside the store, but Gonzales threatened to shoot the officers that came near the building. 

During the incident, officers fired pepper ball rounds into the store and at Gonzales in an attempt to gain compliance. Gonzales continued to fail to comply with the officers’ commands to drop the gun and leave the store.  

Police said around 4:49 p.m., officers saw Gonzales, with the gun still in hand, making an improvised incendiary device by pouring lighter fluid into a container with a rag, commonly referred to as a Molotov cocktail.

Officers determined the device, especially if used in the area where he had poured lighter fluid, posed an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to the employee still trapped in the store. 

Around 4:50 p.m., an APD officer discharged their Department-issued firearm and struck Gonzales. After the officer discharged their firearm, officers entered the store to rescue the uninjured employee who was trapped in the store.  

Officers then secured Gonzales and rendered medical aid to him. He later died from his injuries at a local hospital.

No officers or other members of the public were injured during the incident. 

This incident was captured on the officers’ body-worn cameras. Per APD policy, the video will be released within business days. 

The APD officer who discharged their Department-issued firearm has 16 years of service with the Department.

APD will conduct two concurrent investigations into this incident: a criminal investigation conducted by the APD Special Investigations Unit in conjunction with the Travis County District Attorney's Office and an administrative investigation conducted by the APD Internal Affairs Unit, with oversight from the Office of Police Oversight.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call APD's Special Investigation Unit at (512) 974-6840 or Capitol Area Crime Stoppers at 512-472-8477. For the Capitol Area Crime Stoppers submission, you may submit a tip online at www.austincrimestoppers.org. You may remain anonymous.