Armed Suspect in High-Speed Chase Fatally Shot by Austin Police After Series of Robberies

On Thursday, November 7, 2024, at approximately 3:11 a.m., a Bee Cave Police Department (BCPD) officer spotted an orange Ford Ranger truck traveling at a high rate of speed westbound in the 12500 block of Hwy. 71. The officer activated his emergency lights, and the vehicle stopped. When the officer exited his patrol car, the vehicle fled the scene at a high rate of speed and turned northbound onto FM 620. The vehicle continued driving at high speeds and began driving northbound in the southbound lanes through the City of Lakeway. As oncoming vehicles were having to move out of the subject vehicle’s way to avoid being hit, the BCPD officer terminated the pursuit out of an abundance of caution. The BCPD officer then alerted APD that the subject might possibly be in the area of FM 620 and FM 2222. At 3:14 a.m., the Travis County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO) received a call from dispatch asking for assistance regarding a subject fleeing a traffic stop and heading northbound in southbound lanes of traffic on FM 620. At 3:20 a.m., the TCSO deputy lost site of the vehicle and the pursuit was terminated.

At approximately 3:38 a.m. the subject, later identified as 27-year-old Zachary Labrie, can be seen on Ring doorbell camera footage pulling into an apartment complex parking lot at 9501 N FM 620 in an orange Ford Ranger truck. The subject exited the vehicle wearing a mask, carrying a shotgun, and approached an apartment front door. He proceeded to kick in the front door of the apartment. A few minutes later, he can be seen leaving the apartment and driving away. At approximately 4:42 a.m., Austin 9-1-1 received a call from a female stating that a masked man with a gun approached her as she sat in her car at the Starbucks located at 7710 N FM 620. The man told her to leave everything in the car and get out. He then proceeded to flee the scene in her vehicle, a black Nissan Sentra. At 6:27 a.m., Austin 9-1-1 received a call from a man stating that a man armed with a gun approached him in the parking lot of the HEB located at 7301 N FM 620 and forced him to hand over his car keys. The man handed the subject his keys and the subject left the scene in his vehicle, a black Nissan Rogue.

When APD Robbery Detectives arrived on scene, they located the first stolen vehicle, black Nissan Sentra, unoccupied in the HEB parking lot. APD’s Violent Crimes Task Force learned that the subject might be in the area of 9501 N FM 620 through investigative efforts and were staged at this location when they saw the subject matching the description from the two previous robberies. One of the officers identified himself as Austin Police and told the subject to get on the ground. The subject fled from the officer on foot. The detective then attempted to make contact with the subject, but he continued fleeing on foot. The detective told the subject to stop, and as the subject was running, he turned towards the detective and pointed a handgun at him. All three officers and the detective fired their Department-issued weapons, striking the subject. At 8:47 a.m. shots taken was announced over the radio. The officers and Austin-Travis County EMS (ATCEMS) attempted life-saving measures however, the subject was pronounced deceased at 9:03 a.m.