Officer questioned if Austin man with BB gun killed by police on Dec. 26 had a real gun
Minutes before shooting and killing a man who was found to be brandishing a BB gun, an Austin police officer called out on his radio that the weapon "looks like it might be a pellet gun," according to video and audio footage of the Dec. 26 shooting.
After repeated calls by the man for officers to shoot him, officer Andrew Horne, the same officer who questioned whether the gun was real, fired his assault-style weapon twice — killing 63-year-old Konrad Farad Khorshahian, who police said pointed a BB-gun rifle at the officer just before being killed.
More: Man fatally shot by police in Northeast Austin called 911 on himself before incident
Horne and another officer, Brian Epp, repeatedly yelled at Khorshahian to "drop the weapon." Khorshahian can be heard on body-worn camera footage released Wednesday saying "no" and yelling, "F*** you" at the officers.
Austin police did not say whether the gun was a BB gun or actual rifle during a news conference after the incident. The next day, in response to questions by the American-Statesman, Austin police confirmed that it was a BB gun.
Austin police revealed days after the shooting that Khorshahian had called 911 on himself, reporting that there was a man with a rifle in the parking lot of the apartment complex at 1501 E. Howard Lane. During the 911 call, which was released Wednesday, Khorshahian can be heard telling the dispatcher that "the person" was shooting the gun, but he did not say what he was shooting at. The call was disconnected right after this.
More: Man fatally shot by officer in Northeast Austin had BB gun, police say
Horne and Epps arrived at the apartment at about 1:25 p.m., several minutes after the call, and saw that Khorshahian was pointing a rifle at them. The officers then stopped, exited their vehicles and took cover behind parked vehicles. Minutes later, after repeatedly yelling at Khorshahian to drop the weapon, police said Khorshahian aimed his rifle at Horne, who fired his gun twice, killing him.
Both officers called for Austin-Travis County EMS after the shooting and began providing medical aid to Khorshahian, police said. Authorities pronounced him dead at 1:48 p.m.
Horne has served with the Austin Police Department for four and a half years and has been placed on administrative leave per the department's protocol after a shooting, according to a news release.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin police bodycam footage shows officer killing man who had BB gun
