City of Austin
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASERelease Date:
Contact: Public Information Office 512-974-5017 Email
Case: 2021-3000653
Date: Wednesday, October 27, 2021
Time: 9:16 a.m.
Location: 10610 Pinkney Lane
Deceased: Robert Bruce Richart, White male, 56 years-of-age
The Austin Police Department (APD) is investigating the officer-involved shooting that occurred on Wednesday, October 27, 2021.
At approximately 9:16 a.m., APD officers were assisting Austin Code Enforcement with a search warrant service for nuisance and abatement at the residence of 10610 Pinkney Lane. They attempted to make contact with the resident, and when they were unable to make contact, they left a copy of the search warrant on the front door. Contractors who work for Austin Code Enforcement then began to conduct lawn maintenance on the yard of this residence.
At approximately 10:21 a.m., an APD officer said over the police radio that someone inside the residence at this location fired shots at them. APD officers immediately assisted and relocated Austin Code Enforcement personnel and lawn care contractors to safety. A SWAT call was then initiated for an armed, barricaded subject. Several attempts were made to contact the subject who was inside the residence, but were unsuccessful.
SWAT Officers arrived on scene at approximately 10:43 a.m., along with Mental Health Officers and an APD Crisis Negotiator. De-escalation attempts were made in order to get the situation under control and avoid further violence. For several hours, the officers continued their attempts to make contact with the subject inside the house to no avail.
At 3:19 p.m., APD SWAT officers were in the back yard of the residence when they began to take gunfire from the subject inside the residence. The subject fired many shots at the officers. Due to this immediate threat, officers made entry into the home through the front door using a robot. The robot visuals showed a fire was started in the residence and was quickly spreading. More gunshots were heard, but it was unclear where the subject was firing from inside of the residence.
For the next twenty minutes, officers continued to request that the subject exit the residence. The subject did not exit. The Officers observed the residence was now fully engulfed in flames from the fire. The Austin Fire Department began to attempt to extinguish the fire.
At 3:39 p.m., the garage door of the residence opened, and the subject began walking out of the garage with weapons in his hands. A SWAT Officer fired gunshots at the subject. The subject was struck and fell to the ground. The officers made physical contact with the subject, disarmed him, and moved him to safety away from the burning residence. The officers began life-saving measures on the subject.
The Austin Travis County Fire Department continued to fight the blaze in attempt to contain the fire to protect nearby residences. The Fire Department was able to fully extinguish the fire. Austin Travis County EMS continued to render aid and transported the subject to a local area hospital. The subject succumbed to his injuries at the hospital, and was pronounced deceased at 4:01 p.m. An Austin Code Enforcement employee sustained minor injuries during the incident, and was transported to Dell Seton Medical Center at the University of Texas.
The officer-involved shooting was captured on the officer’s body-worn camera. We are currently working on locating any other sources of video.
The officer involved in this critical incident has been identified as:
• Officer Eric Strnad - 8 years and 7 months of service with APD
Per normal APD protocol, Officer Strnad was placed on administrative leave. APD will conduct two concurrent investigations into this incident: a criminal investigation by the APD Special Investigations Unit in conjunction with the Travis County District Attorney's Office, and an administrative investigation conducted by the APD Internal Affairs Unit, with oversight from the Office of Police Oversight.
Investigators are in the very early stages of this investigation. The information released includes preliminary information the Department has at this time. APD remains committed to transparency and will work to release relevant video footage of this critical incident within 10 business days of its occurrence during a live press conference. This conference will be available via a livestream accessible on APD’s social media platforms. PIO will provide details regarding the press conference once it is scheduled.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 512-472-TIPS, or use the new Crime Stoppers App.