The Brief
- A Williamson County Sheriff’s Office drone used thermal imaging and a PA system to locate and safely arrest three men after reports of midnight gunfire in Cedar Park.
- Police recovered seven firearms from the scene, including two Glock pistols equipped with illegal machine gun conversion devices known as switches.
- The department’s drone team has grown to 12 pilots, with the $15,000 aircraft now deployed daily for search-and-rescue, crash reconstruction, and clearing barricaded homes.
AUSTIN, Texas – After three men were arrested following reports of gunfire in Cedar Park, authorities are revealing how a Williamson County Sheriff’s Office drone team helped locate the suspects and safely bring the incident to an end.
What we know:
Just after midnight on July 4, Cedar Park police officers responded to reports of shots fired near Kettering Road and Bagdad Road. As officers arrived, they heard additional gunfire, but locating the suspects in the dark posed a significant challenge.
“That’s a dangerous situation for officers in the dark because you’re walking around, and you’re blind until you actually see them,” Williamson County Sheriff’s Office Detective Mark McKinney said. “They may see you before you see them, which creates a very deadly situation.”
How the drone helped
The Williamson County Sheriff’s Office responded with one of its drones, which used thermal imaging to detect the suspects’ heat signatures from above.
“The pilot on that incident actually was able to use thermal imaging to detect those suspects and locate them,” McKinney said. “He was able to give them commands over the PA system to get them to surrender to the officers that were closing in on them.”…