2:10 p.m. UPDATE
CORRECTION: Police say Sejdalija Smajic died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A final autopsy report is pending.
by Moses Leos III
A man who barricaded himself in his Garlic Creek home Wednesday was found dead by authorities, this after officials discovered his wife had been shot and was lying in the front yard of the home.
Authorities identified the man, who was also identified as the suspect, as 53-year-old Sejdalija Smajic, according to a city of Buda press release. Buda Public Information Officer David Marino said authorities are awaiting results from an autopsy ordered by Hays County Pct. 5 Justice of the Peace Judge Scott Cary to determine a cause of death.
Marino said the victim, identified as Mejra Smajic, was transported to University Medical Center Brackenridge in Austin where she was undergoing surgery. Marino said her injuries were not considered life-threatening and she is expected to live. No one else was inside the home at the time of incident, Marino said.
Buda Police and other law enforcement agencies responded to a home on Fletcher Bend in the Garlic Creek subdivision around 4:30 Wednesday for a physical disturbance call, Marino said.
When authorities arrived, they found a woman, later identified as Mejra Smajic, lying in the front yard and who had been shot twice. It is unknown at this time the location of where she was shot.
The Hays County SWAT team was dispatched and set a perimeter around the home. Nearby residents were evacuated from the area, Marino said.
Authorities attempted to establish communications with Smajic, who had barricaded himself inside of the home, but were unable to do so, Marino said. SWAT units also used sirens, a loudspeaker and flashbang grenades to get him out of the home.
“Obviously in this situation, police departments do everything they can to get that person to come out before they go in,” Marino said. “That’s what we tried to do today.”
A robot with a camera from the Austin Police Department was ultimately used by law enforcement to go into the home, Marino said. Authorities then discovered the suspect, who appeared decreased.
Marino said multiple resources were on hand during the incident, including a unit from the Austin Police Department.
“This was more law enforcement that what we would see in a different kind of call,” Marino said. “With something like this, we had to bring in extra resources.”
The investigation is ongoing as authorities were attempting to piece together what led up to the incident, Marino said. It is unknown at this time if alcohol played a factor, Marino said, as authorities await autopsy results.
Marino said authorities received no prior domestic calls or disturbance calls in the past.
“There was no history in terms of us being called out here,” Marino said.
