Texas shooting: fugitive in custody after three people killed in Austin
A former sheriff’s deputy in Texas was taken into custody on Monday following a 19-hour manhunt that began after three people were fatally shot in Austin, authorities said.
Stephen Broderick, 41, was arrested without incident on a warrant for capital murder near Manor, Texas, an Austin suburb. Broderick was found with a loaded pistol in his waistband, the Manor police chief, Ryan Phipps, said, and was taken to Travis county jail, in Austin.
The county district attorney, José Garza, will ask that Broderick be held without bail.
“Our office will ensure that Mr Broderick remains in custody and is held accountable,” Garza said. “My heart continues to break for the victims of this senseless act of violence, their families, and for the anguish of our community.”
Police did not immediately disclose a motive for the shooting, which reportedly started as a domestic violence incident. Broderick’s family had requested a protective order against him, saying he sexually assaulted a family member and that they feared for their lives.
“The victims were all known to this suspect,” Austin’s interim police chief, Joseph Chacon, said, adding that Broderick was a former deputy with the
Travis county sheriff’s office.
The Elgin school district, based near Austin, identified two of the three victims: Broderick’s daughter, Alyssa, and another teenager, Willie Simmons.
Alyssa Broderick attended school in the district from 2009 to 2020, taking early college high school classes and playing on a girls’ basketball team. A district representative said she was an “excellent student and athlete”.
Simmons was a high school senior who had been recruited to play college football.
“He was an exceptional young man and leader among his peers. Strong, both academically and athletically, he represented the very best of Elgin ISD,” the district said.
A child was also involved in Sunday’s shooting but was reported safe.
“Obviously this is a tragedy,” Chacon said. “We have people who have lost their lives out here.”
In 2013, when Broderick worked for another local sheriff’s office, he was one of two officers put on administrative leave after fatally shooting an elderly man. He began working for the Travis county sheriff the same year.
Broderick was charged with sexual assault of a child last June and released on $50,000 bond, after spending 16 days in jail. A sheriff’s spokeswoman, Kristen Dark, said Broderick, a property crimes detective, resigned following the arrest.
Broderick was initially required to wear a tracking device but months later a judge ordered it removed.
After Sunday’s shooting, law enforcement launched a manhunt. Residents were warned to shelter in place. Emergency responders flocked to the scene, including dozens of police cars, several ambulances, two Swat trucks and two police helicopters.
Brenda Torres said she was driving by when she saw a little boy flag down a car and a Black man lying facedown on the ground.
“I saw the little boy point down the street,” Torres said. “There was someone lying on the ground. I thought someone had just fallen down or something. As my light turns green and I’m driving, I see cop car after cop car after cop car rushing toward where I just was.”
Josh Katzowitz, who had been shopping at a nearby Trader Joe’s, said police and ambulances came “pouring in” to the area.
“The cops had their guns out,” he said. “Some had pistols, some had rifles and they were strapping on bulletproof vests. There were all of a sudden ambulances, sirens and police cars. There were cops coming from everywhere.”