EX-DEPUTY ACCUSED OF KILLING 3 ARRESTED IN TEXAS
A former Texas sheriff ’s deputy was booked on a capital murder charge Monday after police say he shot and killed his ex-wife, teenage stepdaughter and another man during a weekend shooting that shut down a busy Austin shopping area and set off an overnight manhunt.
Officers found Stephen Broderick, 41, about 20 miles from the scene of Sunday’s shooting, which prompted active shooter alerts and unnerved residents in the Texas capital at a time when the U.S. has been wracked in recent weeks by mass killings.
Broderick was taken into custody without incident just before sunrise Monday, on the outskirts of Austin, after officers received reports of a person matching the shooter’s description, Manor Police Chief Ryan Phipps said. He said Broderick was walking down a rural road and carrying a loaded pistol in his waistband.
“I’m truly heartbroken that a former Travis County Sheriff ’s Office Deputy is the suspect in such a horrific incident,” Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez said.
Broderick was being held without bail in Travis County jail.
Authorities identified the victims as Amanda Broderick, 34, his former wife; Alyssa Marie Broderick, 17, his stepdaughter; and Willie Simmons III, 18, the teenager’s boyfriend. Austin police said they were found lying near two vehicles following a collision at an apartment complex where Amanda Broderick and her former husband were meeting for a scheduled visit with their son, who they said was unharmed during the shooting.
Prosecutors say Stephen Broderick lost his job as a sheriff ’s deputy last year after being arrested on charges of sexual assault of a child. Court records show that a protective order on behalf of his ex-wife and two children had been filed against Broderick following that arrest in June.