Barricaded Armed Car Thief Who Shot at Austin Cops Was Shot and After Negotiations Failed

On Tuesday, May 21, 2024, at approximately 12:36 p.m., an APD officer spotted a stolen vehicle in the 8000 block of Salt Springs Drive. The vehicle pulled into a Texaco gas station located at 8101 Salt Springs Drive. The vehicle parked and the suspect, who was the only occupant of the stolen vehicle and later identified as Alfonso Gonzales, entered the gas station store.

APD officers arrived on the scene and attempted to make contact with Mr. Gonzales in the parking lot of the Texaco, however, Mr. Gonzales turned away from officers and entered the store. As officers entered the store to make contact with Mr. Gonzales, they observed him with a gun in his hand. Officers then gave Mr. Gonzales commands to drop the gun. When he did not comply, officers backed out of the store and initiated a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) response since Mr. Gonzales was armed and barricaded inside the store.

When officers spoke to an employee who had fled the store, they confirmed that another employee was trapped inside of the store in a locked office.

In addition to APD, the Travis County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO), the Austin Fire Department (AFD), and Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services (A/TCEMS) responded with personnel as this incident lasted several hours. As other resources continued to respond to the scene, officers observed Mr. Gonzales pacing inside the store with a gun in his hand. They also observed him pour lighter fluid on the counter and heard him making suicidal threats.

APD hostage negotiators, who have Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training, made contact with the suspect via phone and public address (PA) systems. Negotiators urged Mr. Gonzales to come out of the store peacefully. At various times during these discussions, Mr. Gonzales refused to comply, threatened violence toward officers, and confirmed that he knew another person was inside the store who did not have a safe, accessible exit route.

At approximately 2:12 p.m., in an attempt to more effectively communicate with Mr. Gonzales, APD officers breeched the front of the store. At several points during the incident, Mr. Gonzales fired his gun at officers, and they observed him continue to pour lighter fluid inside the store while holding a lighter in his hand. Officers attempted alternative routes in order to evacuate the employee trapped inside the store, but Mr. Gonzales threatened to shoot the officers that came near the building. In an attempt to de-escalate the situation and continue to negotiate with Mr. Gonzales, the officers backed away.

At approximately 4:16 p.m., APD officers fired pepper ball rounds into the store and at Mr. Gonzales in an attempt to gain compliance. Mr. Gonzales continued to fail to comply with the officers’ commands to drop the gun and leave the store.

At approximately 4:49 p.m., officers observed Mr. Gonzales, with the gun still in hand, making an improvised incendiary device by pouring lighter fluid into a container with a rag (commonly referred to as a Molotov cocktail). Officers determined that Mr. Gonzales’ incendiary device, especially if used in the area where he had poured lighter fluid, posed an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to the employee still trapped in the store.

At approximately 4:50 p.m., Officer Ryan Nichols discharged his department-issued firearm and struck Mr. Gonzales. After Officer Nichols discharged his firearm, officers entered the store to rescue the uninjured employee who was trapped in the store.

Officers then secured Mr. Gonzales and rendered medical aid to him. At approximately 5:01 p.m., Mr. Gonzales was transported to a local hospital where he was later pronounced deceased at 5:21 p.m.