Leander Residents Urged To Shelter Amid Shooting, SWAT Called

LEANDER, TX — Residents in Leander on Wednesday night were directed to shelter in their homes amid reports of shots fired.

The directive was sent at around 9:30 p.m. by the city to residents via a mass text message to residents subscribing to the service. Subsequently, police said the directive targeted residents living along Waterfall Avenue. A Central Texas Regional SWAT team was dispatched to the area as a suspect was barricaded in a home there, police later wrote on Twitter.

The standoff ended some eight hours later. "The suspect is now safely in custody," police wrote, noting there were no other occupants in the house where the suspected had barricaded. Police said they would release further details later on Thursday.

Originally vaguely termed a "law enforcement event," Leander police later tweeted the substantial police presence in the area was in response to shots fired. The incident occurred along the 1300 block of Waterfall Avenue, police said. Residents on social media reported that a police helicopter circled overhead amid other police activity.

"This is an emergency message from the City of Leander," the original message that was shared in Facebook neighborhood pages read. "There is a law enforcement event in your area. You are instructed to take shelter in your residence and lock all exterior doors and windows and turn off all internal lights. Thank you."

Police later confirmed shots had been fired just before 10:30 p.m. "We have a large police presence investigating a shots fired call in the 1300 Block of Waterfall Ave. in Leander, Texas. No injuries have been reported at this time. Surrounding residents were asked to shelter in place for safety."

The shelter-in-place notification originally "...was sent out to a very broad area," police acknowledged, but was meant for those living in the vicinity where the shots were fired: "The affected area is only the residents living near the 1300 Block of Waterfall Ave. in Leander, Texas. The suspect is believed to be contained at this residence at this time."

Patch reached out to city spokesperson Michael Neu in an attempt to secure more details — a description of the shooter, where the shots were fired, whether there were other occupants in the house, and the like. He referred Patch to the police department's Facebook page containing the same missives as those posted on Twitter. "We will update as needed," he wrote in an email.

This is a developing story. Patch will update when more information is known.