AUSTIN, Texas — An Austin man is in custody after the Austin Police Department’s SWAT team responded to the same South Austin address twice in less than 24 hours. The officers were called to the 2400 block of Monarch Drive near West Slaughter Lane on Thursday and Friday.
Some neighbors say they were never notified that a potentially dangerous situation was playing out that was too close for comfort.
“It was really scary,” said Tanglewood Forest homeowner Krystal Bonillas.
Bonillas lives half a block from where Austin’s SWAT team swarmed the same house twice within 24 hours. She wants answers from Austin police about why she and her neighbors did not get alerts about the back-to-back SWAT calls.
“No news given to neighbors. No alert. No phone call. Nothing. We didn’t know how dangerous this was or how to stay safe,” said Bonillas.
On Thursday, an Austin woman made the first call to police. She said her ex-husband was violating a protective order and had a gun. APD says when officers went inside the home on Monarch Drive, the suspect was gone.
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Friday morning, APD got another call saying the suspect might have returned to the house.
“Due to the nature of the call, the fact that he had a firearm, as well as the fact he was violating the law today, as well as he had an active warrant for his arrest for the violation of a protective order from yesterday, they were able to call SWAT out,” said APD Officer Austin Zarling.
SWAT officers, a hostage negotiator, a canine unit, and others blocked off the South Austin street for the second time.
“Unfortunately, the suspect was not apprehended yesterday. But once officers arrived, they did locate the suspect. The suspect did barricade himself inside of the residence and the subject, again, did arm himself with a rifle,” said Zarling.
Around noon on Friday, the suspect was taken into custody.
“A lot of us have kids on this street,” said Bonillas.
The Austin mother says she only heard that she was supposed to stay inside her home from the news media. Bonillas thinks APD should have put out an alert or text.
“Do you get alerts for other things?” asked CBS Austin Reporter Bettie Cross.
“All the time,” said Bonillas. “But we did not get any of that.”
No one was injured either Thursday or Friday. Police have not released the suspect’s identity.