Austin SWAT standoff outside children's medical center leaves 2 dead, police say

A SWAT standoff that lasted more than six hours at a medical center in central Austin, Texas, beginning around 4:30 p.m., left two people dead, the Austin Police Department confirmed after 11 p.m. CT. 

The standoff is over.

At least one doctor had been held inside the Children's Medical Group building, KVUE-TV reported. The parent of a patient at the medical center tells Fox News that their doctor was being held in the building. 

Police spent hours talking to the suspect through a bullhorn. It is believed the suspect also appeared to be a doctor, according to KVUE.

Authorities found two people dead when they entered the building, KEYE-TV reporter Melanie Barden reported. It is unclear if the suspect died.

Barden reported the incident is being investigated as a homicide.

"You don’t deserve to go through this..for all you have done for others...that is why I want to help you work through this," the local news outlet reports that a police officer said through a bullhorn to the suspect earlier. "You have saved a lot of lives."

In a 911 call that came in about the incident around 4:30 p.m., it was reported that the suspect entered the office and took a hostage or hostages at gunpoint, FOX 7 in Austin reported. 

In a 9 p.m. update, a FOX 7 reporter said a witness told her everyone inside the medical office had been taken hostage by the suspect, but he let at least three people go immediately. 

"When I arrived on scene, I saw a woman being escorted by police out of the taped area where she was met and hugged by a child. And that's what we've been seeing over the past few hours: multiple people being walked out and handed off to what we can only assume are loved ones," FOX 7's Amanda Ruiz reported. 

HOUSTON DEPUTY SHOT IN BOTH HANDS, MANHUNT FOR SUSPECT INTENSIFIES

Law enforcement escorted at least one woman in scrubs away from the building, but it is unclear if she was ever held hostage, KXAN reported. 

An officer also said through the bullhorn, "Everything that is happening tonight doesn’t take anything away from everything that you have accomplished as a doctor," according to Barden. 

"I cannot guarantee your safety unless you comply," KVUE-TV reporter Tony Plohetski tweeted earlier of the hostage negotiator's attempted communications with the suspect. "I am letting you know, doctor, there is a way to resolve this. I need your help to fix the situation. That starts with you answering the phone."

"You've spent so much of your life helping the terminally ill, now it's your turn for us to help you," a negotiator said to the suspect over a bullhorn after a 25-minute break in contact before 11 p.m., KXAN reporter Jody Barr reported. 

Barr tweeted just after 11 p.m. that SWAT vehicles were seen leaving the scene after police said it would be sending a robot inside the building and blasts were heard. It's unclear what the blasts were.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Police had evacuated homes in the area surrounding the 1900 block of W 35th Street and asked the public to stay away. 

Fox News' Brie Stimson contributed to this report.