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AUSTIN (KXAN) — A 22-year-old man has been charged with two counts of attempted capital murder after an April 9 incident in northeast Austin, where the suspect was also struck by an Austin Police Officer’s gunfire.
It happened just after midnight Friday at the East Highway 290 Westbound Service Road between Cameron Road and Interstate 35, where police say Gregorio Sarmiento was reportedly pursuing another driver, who was ultimately unharmed, in his vehicle while shooting at him.
Austin Police Department says officers followed after Sarmiento before stopping him in the 6300 block of East 290. Officers say as they exited their vehicle, Sarmiento immediately began firing at them — prompting them to return fire.
Both Sarmiento and APD Officer Jon Riordan were injured. The second officer, Kingly Kong, was unharmed.
Riordan was taken to the hospital and released after undergoing surgery. Sarmiento remains in the hospital but is reported to be in stable condition.
Sarmiento’s bond is listed at $1 million.
This incident was captured on body-worn camera as well as the in-car camera of the police vehicle. Per APD protocol, both officers have been placed on administrative leave. Riordan has been with APD for two years, Kong one year.
APD says it will conduct two concurrent investigations into the incident: a criminal investigation and an administrative investigation with oversight from the Office of Police Oversight.
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