Austin police are spotlighting a team of city officers and a Travis County deputy as Employees of the Week after they tracked down a suspect who allegedly called in a threat to “shoot up” a local school while more than 275 students were on campus. Officer Brar located the suspect while the campus remained on lockdown, and officers working with the Travis County Sheriff’s Office and Hutto PD cleared the school and confirmed there was no immediate danger. According to police, the suspect later admitted making the call and was booked on a third-degree felony terroristic-threat charge.
We are proud to announce our Employees of the Week from APD and TCSO. Their combined efforts led to identifying and locating the suspect who threatened to shoot up a school and to the safety of everyone at the school. Great job! https://x.com/i/status/2065554744710402368
— Austin Police Department (@austin_police) June 12, 2026
Officers Recognized And How The Lockdown Played Out
In a post on X, the Austin Police Department named Officers Jester, Lester, Wise, Brar, Vukasin and Pastor, along with Deputy Howell from the Travis County Sheriff’s Office, as this week’s honorees. APD said their combined efforts identified and located the suspect while students were still on campus, and that officers, working alongside Hutto PD, then cleared the school and determined there was no ongoing threat.
According to the department, the suspect admitted to making the threatening call and was booked on a third-degree felony terroristic-threat charge. Police framed the outcome as a textbook example of why quick interagency coordination matters when a potential school threat comes in and administrators lock down the campus.
What A Terroristic-Threat Charge Means In Texas
Under Texas law, threatening violence that places the public in fear or disrupts public services can be prosecuted as a terroristic threat. The statute covers threats that cause evacuations or interrupt public operations, which is exactly the kind of disruption schools seek to avoid when they move quickly into lockdown.
When the charge is elevated to a third-degree felony, it can carry two to ten years in prison, although penalties and charging decisions ultimately depend on prosecutors and the specific facts of each case. The relevant statute is laid out in Texas Penal Code §22.07, which details the language of the law and potential penalties.
Next Steps And What Officials Are Saying
Prosecutors in Travis County will review the case and decide on formal charges and next steps. APD did not release the suspect’s name in its public post. Chief Lisa Davis used the department announcement to thank the officers involved and to highlight the coordination that secured the campus, according to the Austin Police Department post. The department also asked anyone with additional information to contact investigators through its usual tip lines.
School officials did not identify the campus in APD’s announcement, and police said they focused on student safety while investigators worked to confirm the credibility of the threat. Incidents like this typically lead to a full criminal review and follow-up outreach with affected families, and officials say that tight coordination between school districts and law enforcement remains central to keeping campuses secure when a threat call suddenly turns a school day upside down.
