Deputy fatally shoots man as he holds a gun to his screaming wife’s head, Texas cops say
An out-of-state call led deputies to find a husband holding a gun to his wife’s head as she screamed for help, Texas deputies said.
The 911 call came from the couple’s son, a spokesperson from the Travis County Sheriff’s Office said during a news conference shared by KTBC. He told dispatch on Jan. 28 that his father was threatening his mother’s life, according to deputies.
Upon arrival, deputies heard “cries for help” coming from the Leander home, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office. Inside, they found a husband holding his wife at gunpoint, deputies said.
The man was asked to lower the gun, but he refused to comply, deputies said.
A deputy shot the man in an effort to save the woman, according to the spokesperson.
The husband died at the scene, according to officials. The wife and deputy were not injured. The identity of the man who died has not been released.
“This is a situation no deputy wants to ever be in but in a situation when a person’s life is at stake sometimes deadly force is necessary,” the spokesperson for the sheriff’s office said during the news conference.
The deputy that fired the deadly shot has been placed on administrative leave while the Travis County Sheriff’s Office and the Texas Rangers conduct their investigations, according to the release.
Leander is about a 25-mile drive northwest from Austin.
This story was originally published January 29, 2025 at 9:55 AM with the headline "Deputy fatally shoots man as he holds a gun to his screaming wife’s head, Texas cops say."
