by Nicole Chavez ~ American-Statesman Staff

“For a guy to keep his composure and holding two horses with one hand and taking a one-hand shot with the other hand, it says a lot about the training and professionalism of our police department…”

Austin Police Mounted Patrol

At least three shooting attacks on downtown Austin buildings ended early Friday morning after a mounted patrol officer confronted the suspected shooter, police said.

Shortly after 2:30 a.m., Sgt. Adam Johnson, a 15-year veteran with the Austin Police Department, was corralling two horses after his night shift when he saw a man firing multiple rounds at the police headquarters building and managed to return fire, police said.

“For a guy to keep his composure and holding two horses with one hand and taking a one-hand shot with the other hand, it says a lot about the training and professionalism of our police department,” Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo said.

The suspected gunman was later pronounced dead but police said investigators and the medical examiner’s office are still working to determine whether a shot fired by Johnson or by the gunman himself caused his death.

Johnson had been placed on administrative leave, which is standard police protocol during officer-involved shootings.

Johnson has been leading the 12-member mounted patrol unit, which focuses primarily on keeping Sixth Street and the Warehouse district safe at night.

The mounted patrol unit was one of several police units that responded during the Halloween floods in 2013. Johnson and the other unit members helped find lost horses along Onion Creek.

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