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Police in Texas have arrested the former sheriff's detective accused of shooting and killing three people Sunday in Austin.
Stephen Broderick, a former Travis County Sheriff's Office detective who had been charged with raping a 16-year-old girl last summer, was taken into custody Monday morning in the city of Manor after two callers reported seeing a suspicious person walking along the side of U.S. 290, FOX7 Austin reports.
Manor Police Department Chief Ryan Phipps told the station that an unmarked vehicle was dispatched to the area east of Austin to confirm Broderick's identity, before marked units were called in. The 41-year-old was then ordered to stop by officers and was arrested without incident, he added.
This file photo provided by the Austin Police Department shows Stephen Broderick, 41. Broderick was arrested Monday, April 19, 2021, in Manor, Texas, a suburb of Austin, in connection with the fatal shooting of three people in Austin on Sunday. (AP/Austin Police Department)
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Police also say a pistol was found in his waistband, and Broderick has now been taken to Travis County Jail.
Broderick is suspected in the fatal shooting of two Hispanic women and one Black man on Sunday in Austin, in what officials believe was a domestic dispute, according to FOX7 Austin.
"The victims were all known to this suspect," interim Austin Police Chief Joseph Chacon said Sunday.
Two of the victims were identified Monday morning as former and current Elgin Independent School District students.
"We are heartbroken by the news of this senseless tragedy, and we extend our deepest condolences to the families of Willie Simmons III and Alyssa Broderick," Elgin ISD Superintendent Jodi Duron said in a statement obtained by FOX7 Austin.
Stephen Broderick, suspect in Austin, Texas, massacre, arrested by Manor Police Department officers. (Manor Police Department)
It added that Alyssa Broderick, who withdrew from the district last fall, "was an excellent student and athlete, enrolled in our Early College High School program and played on our girls' basketball team."
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Simmons III, meanwhile, was a senior at Elgin High School and the captain of its football team, the statement said.
"He was an exceptional young man and leader among his peers," the statement added. "Strong, both academically and athletically, he represented the very best of Elgin ISD."
Counselors are now on hand to assist students, faculty and families affected by the shooting.
Broderick, prior to his arrest today, was charged with raping a 16-year-old girl last summer, officials said.
Austin's KXAN, citing an arrest affidavit, reported last June that the ex-detective was on administrative leave following an arrest for allegations of sexual assault.
Law enforcement personnel investigate at the scene of a deadly shooting near an apartment complex in Austin, Texas, on Sunday. (Reuters)
U.S. Marshals arrested Broderick on June 6, three days after the teen accused him of assaulting her in a home in Elgin, Texas, the Austin American-Statesman reported.
Broderick reportedly spent 16 days in jail before he posted a bail of $50,000.
After doing that, courts ordered Broderick to not contact or go within 200 feet of the teen, and to wear a GPS tracking device, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
But then five months later with the case still pending, a judge in Travis County ordered the GPS device to be removed, the newspaper adds.
The Austin American-Statesman, citing a written motion to the court from Broderick's lawyer, said the attorney argued that his client wore the electronic monitor for nearly 150 days with no substantial violations, justifying its removal.
Broderick's bail conditions also reportedly prohibited him from possessing any firearms.
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Shortly after Broderick's initial arrest, his wife Amanda filed for a protective order from him over concerns about her and their children's safety, USA Today also reports.
"I'm afraid he will try to hurt me or [the] children, because these allegations have come out and he may lose his career," she reportedly wrote. "Stephen has prior military experience and is SWAT trained. If he wanted to hurt someone, he would know how."
Fox News’ Evie Fordham, Bradford Betz and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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