First things first: the woman held hostage, the carjacking victim and the man confronted in his home in yesterday’s wild incident near Forest Lane and Audelia north of I-635 are all safe.
Wednesday about 4:30 p.m., Dallas Police were called to the Budget Suites at Forest and LBJ because a woman was being held against her will. When officers arrived, 26-year-old Austin Reed jumped out of a window and ran away. During the chase, Reed pointed a gun at his own head and threatened to shoot himself.
Reed ran into the nearby wooded creek area wearing body armor, and police reported hearing shots fired. He later emerged shirtless and continued his rampage, carjacking a woman in the Vineyards Apartments on Audelia. Reed ordered the woman out of her black SUV and jumped into it, and more shots were fired, blowing out the side windows.
He sped through the complex before busting through the gates onto Audelia and crashing into a light pole, disabling the stolen vehicle. Reed then limped east across Audelia, jumped over a brick wall, walked into an open garage door and entered an occupied home on Jackson Creek Drive not far from Audelia Creek Elementary. He confronted the homeowner there, who had a gun of his own.
News crews circling in helicopters filmed the man’s final capture by officers of the DPD and nearby Richland College as he was strapped to a gurney, wheeled away and put into an ambulance. He’d had a knife, they said, and he’d been shot by police officers during his apprehension.
He was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to police.
On Friday, Reed was charged with three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, one of which was family violence, and three counts of robbery of an individual.
Police ask that anyone with information or surveillance footage call them at 214-671-3068.
This post was updated Friday after police released the suspect’s name, offenses and injuries.
Additional reporting by Elissa Chudwin.
