A police officer shot and killed a Cuban man in Austin, Texas, after finding him stabbing his wife in an apartment in a residential complex early Monday morning.
The events occurred after 1:30 a.m. in an apartment located in the 12500 block of Tech Ridge Boulevard, in the San Paloma Apartments complex, according to the information provided at a press conference by Robin Henderson, interim chief of the Austin Police Department (APD).
The U.S. authorities did not disclose the identity of the deceased man or the assaulted woman, nor did they reveal the relationship between them.
However, the crime reporter Niover Licea confirmed this Tuesday on his social media that both the assailant and his victim are Cubans, natives of Moa, Holguín, and were married.
Licea identified the woman as Rosa María Tabera and her attacker as Ensel Maclare, and stated that she was pregnant.
Friends and other people close to the couple commented in the video published by the influencer that they had been "together for a long time" and had children.
They also specified that she had been living in the United States for about four years, while he had arrived more than two years ago.
"Unfortunately, this had to happen for them to put an end to him because he was constantly mistreating her," stated a man who identified himself as a friend of both. Another woman commented: "My God, thank goodness the police intervened, he was a criminal, there is no forgiveness for someone who mistreats a woman, let alone a pregnant one."
According to the police report, around 1:34 a.m. the police received a first call to 911 about a loud altercation between a man and a woman at the residential complex located near the I-35 North, in the north of the city of Austin.
Two minutes later, another person made a second call and said they could hear a woman asking for help and a man screaming, glass breaking, and things being thrown. They added that the disturbance had moved to the yard and then back to the apartment.
The agents arrived at the scene around 1:45 a.m. and were guided by a neighbor to the apartment where the incident was taking place.
The officers heard the disturbance coming from the apartment, knocked, and identified themselves in English and Spanish, but received no response. Due to the necessity of preserving life and preventing further harm to individuals, the agents forced open the main door of the apartment," explained the interim chief of APD.
Once inside, they found a closed room where the altercation was taking place, and they also had to force the door.
Upon entering, they saw a man on top of a woman, whom he was repeatedly stabbing with a knife. In order to protect the life of the victim, an officer used his service weapon and struck the suspect," Henderson said.
Immediately, the officers began administering first aid to both until the ambulance service arrived and they were transported to a local hospital.
The police informed the local press that the woman suffered life-threatening injuries and was in critical condition, while the assailant was declared dead at 3:05 a.m. No other individuals or officers were injured.
Henderson added that the officer who shot the suspect has five years of service in the Austin Police Department and, according to that agency's protocol, would be assigned to administrative duties.
The APD will carry out two simultaneous inquiries: a criminal investigation conducted by the Special Investigations Unit of the Police in conjunction with the County of Travis District Attorney's Office, and an administrative inquiry conducted by the Internal Affairs Unit.
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