AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin police are still searching for the suspect after three people were killed in a shooting near an apartment complex in the Arboretum area of northwest Austin.
The scene was previously reported as a possible active shooter situation, however, Austin Police Department now says it appears it was an isolated domestic event.
Police confirmed to KXAN that officers were “following up on leads” related to the shooting in the Elgin area late Sunday night. Around 12 a.m. Monday, KXAN saw multiple police crews leaving the scene.
- If you or someone you know needs help, please call the 24/7 National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233.
Police named 41-year-old Stephen Nicholas Broderick as the suspect and they’re considering him a fugitive who is armed and dangerous. Broderick is said to be wearing a gray hoodie and a baseball cap. He is 5′ 7″ with an average build.
After more than five hours of shelter-in-place requirements, Austin police lifted that order for the northwest Austin area near the search around 4:40 p.m. SWAT units and helicopters were searching a heavily-wooded area nearby.
According to Austin-Travis County EMS, three adults (two women and one man) were pronounced dead at the Arboretum Oaks Apartments, located at 9617 Great Hills Trail. ATCEMS says the incident was reported at 11:42 a.m. Sunday.
Austin-Travis County EMS had 18 response assets on-scene and says no one else was hurt. APD SWAT vehicles were seen entering the area around 1:15 p.m.
Several businesses in the Arboretum shopping area closed for the remainder of the day after the shelter in place announcement. Z’Tejas and Eddie V’s don’t plan to re-open on Sunday. The Cheesecake Factory and Barnes & Noble are still open.
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What we know about the suspect
According to the Texas Rangers and Travis County court records, Broderick is a former Travis County Sheriff’s detective and was charged with sexual assault of a child in June 2020.
He bonded out of jail days after his arrest, and resigned from the sheriff’s office, according to a spokeswoman.
Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza said in a statement that his office filed a motion to revoke Broderick’s bond on Sunday. The office is “actively supporting the Austin Police Department and law enforcement who are using all available resources to apprehend” Broderick, according to the statement.
Broderick was also previously an investigator with the Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office. According to a press release from March of 2013, he was one of two responding deputies who shot at a suspect after a family disturbance in Del Valle. Broderick was 32 years old at the time.
He started working with the Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office on March 16, 2008.
Both deputies were put on leave as the Texas Rangers investigated, which is in line with standard protocol.