Round Rock police: No explosive devices found at home of barricaded man
Round Rock police allowed residents near Vernell Way to return to their homes and reopened area streets Monday night after it was determined that all potential explosive devices inside a home during a SWAT standoff were not a threat.
Police had evacuated about 24 homes as a precaution following reports of a suicidal man barricaded inside a home with possibly rigged explosives inside. Officials said family members in the 2300 block of Vernell Way called around noon Monday about a man in distress who indicated he was suicidal.
Police Lt. Tom Sloan on Monday night said a SWAT robot provided by the Austin police bomb squad was used to go inside the home. Around 5:30 p.m., he said, the man was found unresponsive inside but without any injuries. The man was taken to a hospital.
"That is the most positive outcome that we could have hoped for today and I think it’s a testament and hallmark of quick-thinking officers, the family for calling this in when they got notification that he was suicidal," Sloan said.
"During the initial response, officers located what they thought were explosive devices, so it appeared to responding officers that a suicidal man might have rigged his home with explosives," Sloan said. "That changes a lot of things for us. Or main priority right away is yes, the safety of the man on the site, but also the community. So we launched evacuation efforts for all the homes in the immediate area."
At 7:15 p.m., police announced that no explosive devices were in the home and residents were allowed to return.
Officials later said that there were several components of what initially appeared to be explosive making material, and several hoax devices were found around the house and property. They were comprised of metal, wires and propane tanks.
During the incident, nearby Sunrise Road was shut down from Bradley Lane and David Curry Drive to Bowman Road and Tiger Trail. The city offered evacuated residents a place to stay at the Allen R. Baca Center.
On Tuesday officials said the man was in stable condition at the hospital.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Round Rock homes evacuated with reports of barricaded person, possible explosives
