Man accused in Austin stabbings dies after fall, police say

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The man accused of stabbing two people inside an Austin restaurant, killing a manager, has died of injuries he sustained after jumping from the roof of the building, police said.

The attack happened Friday morning on a busy downtown avenue of restaurants and apartments just south of the Texas Capitol. Police were called to a coffee shop on a report of a man standing outside with a large rock and threatening people, Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said Monday.

When an officer arrived, two people were holding down the suspect, identified Monday as 27-year-old Dylan Woodburn. But as the officer prepared to detain Woodburn, the officer’s duty belt came undone, Manley said. The officer put down a set of handcuffs and Woodburn broke free, the police chief said.

In the chaos, Woodburn ran into the nearby Freebirds World Burrito, took a knife from the restaurant and fatally stabbed the restaurant’s kitchen manager, 34-year-old Johnathan Aguilar, as well as a second employee, Manley said.

Woodburn then climbed to the building’s roof and plunged head first into the ground, police said. He was taken to a hospital but Manley said he died Friday night.

A person also was injured in the coffee shop. Witnesses told the Austin American-Statesman that Woodburn hit a patron on the back of the head with a coffee mug.

The police chief said Monday an internal investigation was underway.

“We want to know the circumstances under which the officer’s duty belt came free,” Manley said. “Obviously, that is something that we do not expect to have happened. We expect to provide our officers with the best equipment, and we expect our equipment to perform appropriately. That’s why we’re conducting this review.”

Hours after the attack, Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speculated on Twitterthat the attacker was homeless with a criminal record, fanning an ongoing feud with Austin’s liberal leaders over people living on the streets.

Police later confirmed Woodburn was homeless.