Bodycam shows Austin police fatally shooting suspect while making Molotov cocktails at gas station

Body camera video released Wednesday shows the events that led Austin police to shoot an armed man who had holed himself up in a southeast Austin gas station and made Molotov cocktails.

Police said Nichols is the one who discharged his department-issued firearm. He has 16 years of service with the department. Nichols was placed on administrative leave, per APD protocol.

Fabian was not considered a “subject officer” in the shooting. Police said his body cam footage was released, so the public could “better understand the sequence of events,” the release said.

Police followed a stolen vehicle as it turned into the gas station on May 21, according to a media briefing that day. The suspect, later identified as 35-year-old Alfonso Gonzales, also shot at officers multiple times, poured lighter fluid over the counter and made suicidal threats, police said. They also said he told them he knew someone else — an employee — was inside the gas station.

Around 4:50 p.m., APD said Nichols fired his department-issued gun, hitting Gonzales. Officers then went into the store to rescue the employee who was inside.

Around 5:01 p.m., Gonzales was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 5:21 p.m.

Police said no one else, officers or the public, was injured during the incident. APD said the case remains under investigation but no charges are pending.