Dallas Police Chase Takes A Bizarre Turn -- Right Into Homeowner's Garage
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - A North Texas man who confronted an armed suspect inside his own home relives the encounter in a CBS 11 News exclusive interview.
Police identified the man as 26-year-old Austin Reed.
The incident started with a carjacking and wild police chase in Dallas. Police say they received a 911 call reporting a woman being held against her will at a motel in the 9500 block of Forest Lane.
When police tried to make contact with Reed, who was armed with a handgun and wearing body armor, he jumped out a window and ran. As officers chased after Reed, he pointed his weapon at his head and threatened suicide several times.
After running through a wooded area, Chopper 11 spotted Reed as he emerged shirtless and ran into an apartment complex. Once in the parking lot he carjacked a woman at gunpoint. Police opened fire on the SUV as Reed drove away.
After driving a short distance Reed rammed through a metal security gate at the complex, crashed into a light pole, jumped out of the SUV and scaled a brick wall surrounding a gated residential community.
Reed was running through the neighborhood when Chopper 11 captured video of him making his way into Ron Hernandez's open garage.
"All of a sudden I heard somebody running down my hallway and I get up and somebody's yelling at us, 'Give me your f***ing keys' and I'm like 'what?'" Hernandez recalled. "And I do not recognize him... do not know who he is."
Hernandez described how he briefly tussled with Reed. "We were this close in proximity," he said motioning to CBS 11 reporter Andrea Lucia. "When I stood up he was probably a little taller than you. He kind of got put off that I was much bigger than him and so he went for a weapon. He pulled out a knife real quickly, and I shoved him down on the other side of the couch and then we both ran off."
Hernandez and a roommate ran down a hallway and took cover - that is, until Hernandez could arm himself. "I yelled at one roommate to go to the bedroom," he said. "He [roommate] went into the master where I went behind him. We barricaded the door and I went and grabbed my pistol."
The homeowner said he opened the bedroom door and when Reed saw his gun he took off running back down the hallway. Reed ran back outside the house but was met by officers from the Dallas Police Department and Dallas County Community College.
Officials say Reed was still armed with the knife and when he ignored verbal commands to drop it they opened fire. Reed was shot, but it isn't known how many times he was hit. The man was taken away by ambulance.
He is currently at a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Reed was charged with three counts of aggravated assault and three counts of aggravated robbery.
No residents or police officers were injured.