AUSTIN, Texas – One person is dead after an officer-involved shooting in downtown Austin Saturday.

What we know:

One person is dead after an officer-involved shooting in downtown Austin Saturday morning following a foot pursuit, according to the Austin Police Department.

Police said officers first received calls shortly after 8 a.m. reporting that a white man was pointing a handgun at several people along the trail near Lamar Boulevard and West Cesar Chavez Street.

About three hours later, an officer located the suspect near the TownLake YMCA in the 1100 block of West Cesar Chavez Street. Police said the suspect fled on foot, leading officers on a chase.

What they’re saying:

According to APD, officers repeatedly ordered the suspect to drop the handgun, but he refused to comply.

“The officers gave commands for the individual to drop the firearm. The subject refused to stop, refused to drop the firearm,” an APD spokesperson said. “At one point, the officers caught up with the individual. Unfortunately, the officers were faced with a situation in which they had fired rounds, striking the subject.”

“This is the first time I’ve seen something like this happen since I’ve been coming here in over 10 years,” said a man named Salvador, who goes to the Townlake YMCA almost every day. He says he was grateful no one else was injured in the shooting, considering it was the facility’s busiest day of the week.

“It’s difficult to even walk in the place because there’s just so many parents and children at this YMCA on Saturdays,” he told FOX 7. “It’s very scary. Not only do I go to the YMCA here, but I also run on the trail, which is right across the street. I run on a trail there maybe two or three times a week. And if it’s a nice day, there are thousands of people running on the trails on Saturday morning because the weather is really mild, and they can get their walk in or their run in. So, it’s terrifying.”

Assistant Police Chief Lee Rogers says that there will be two investigations into the incident, including an administrative investigation conducted in conjunction with the Austin Police Oversight and a criminal investigation with APU Special Investigations Unit and the Travis County District Attorney’s Office. 

Dig deeper:

Police said officers immediately rendered medical aid after the shooting, but the suspect died from his injuries.

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

Authorities have not released the identity of the man who was killed.

Police have not identified the officers involved in the shooting or said how many officers fired their weapons.

The officer-involved shooting remains under investigation.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Two police officers shot and killed an armed man after a brief foot chase in downtown Austin, Texas, hours after multiple people reported that he was pointing a handgun at people near a busy trail system, according to officials.

Police began receiving 911 calls shortly after 8 a.m. Saturday about a white man armed with a handgun near the trails around Lamar Boulevard and Cesar Chavez Street, according to Police Chief Lee Rogers. Callers reported that the man was pointing the weapon at multiple people throughout the area.

Officers searched the downtown area for several hours before encountering a man matching the description at about 11 a.m. He was initially on a scooter when officers approached and attempted to detain him and question him about the earlier calls.

The man left the scooter behind and ran away, leading officers on a short foot chase. Officers saw that he had a firearm and repeatedly ordered him to stop and drop the weapon, but he refused.

When the officers caught up with him, both opened fire and struck him. Rogers did not explain what immediately caused the officers to shoot, but said more than one round was fired.

Officers provided medical aid, but the man was pronounced dead from his injuries.

Rogers said he could not confirm reports that the man was homeless. The shooting is being investigated administratively with Austin Police Oversight and criminally by the department’s Special Investigations Unit and the Travis County District Attorney’s Office.

TEXAS — According to Redfin, a national real estate brokerage firm, the top three most affordable cities for renters in the country are in Texas. The firm released its study in 2025, which also lists the median incomes needed to afford the average rent.

Renters living in the Sawyer Heights neighborhood near downtown Houston say apartments in that area come with a hefty price tag.

“It’s not cheap to live in this city, especially with income the way it is,” said Evan Camp, a renter.

Jacinto Cepeda shares his sentiment, adding you get what you pay for.

“It’s just increasing in price if you want to live somewhere nicer or a little bit safer, I would say, it’s definitely on the pricier side,” Cepeda said.

However, Redfin’s report ranking the top 10 most affordable metros for renters across the country shows renters in the Houston metro area may be better off compared to other Texans. Austin, Houston and Dallas took the top three spots, respectively.

The study analyzes Census Bureau data on median incomes and average rent costs, based on the affordability criteria of renters spending no more than 30% of their income on rent.

“In the most recent American Community Survey, we found that, for the first time, the majority of renters in Harris County in Houston are cost-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent,” said Dr. Stephen Sherman, an associate director of research at the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University.

Sherman says while some may consider Houston rent as more reasonable than New York City and Los Angeles, Harris County incomes have not kept up with inflation.

“When you start to look at how that compares to people’s incomes, how high eviction rates are, the quality of multifamily building here, you start to see that that cheery story has some cracks and fissures,” he said.

The Redfin study shows the typical U.S. renter earns nearly $9,000 less than the income needed to afford the median apartment. It shows a median rent in the Houston metro of $1,239, meaning the affordability required for annual income needed is closer to $50,000. As of December 2024, Houston’s median renter income was roughly $58,000, which was nearly $9,000 more than needed to cover the rent. Sherman says that means nearly half of renters don’t make enough.

“Apartment rents and home prices, as well, have stabilized, but when you look at incomes, especially after adjusting for inflation, they’ve actually gone down,” said Sherman, adding this is while expenses like groceries and gas have gone up. “Everything is a trade-off. You can find affordable places to live in Houston, but it might be in an older building in dire need of repairs.”

Cepeda said walkability is one thing he appreciates about the Heights area.

“It’s just a matter of where you’re willing to live where you’re willing to live, and how you’re willing to live is the most important thing,” he said.