Senior PO Jorge Pastore
Officer: Austin Police Department, Senior Police Officer Jorge Pastore
Date: 11/11/2023 Location: Austin, TX FACTORS (1,2,7,15,18,19,21)
Perpetrator(s) Involved: Ahmed Mohamed Nassar
Criminal Activity History/Involved: Unknown, but Nassar was on an FBI terror watch list. / Yes, Nassar murdered two of his relatives and stabbed a third.
Mental Illness: None stated.
Substance Abuse History/Involved: Unknown. / None stated.
Race/Sex/Age: Middle Eastern/Male/35
What prompted the initial contact with the killer? At around 2:49 a.m. on November 11, 2023, Austin police officers responded to a 911 call of a woman “screaming for help and said someone was stabbing her.” When the officers arrived near the house the incident took place, they encountered the woman and learned the perpetrator, Ahmed Mohamed Nassar was still armed with a knife and had two hostages inside. Fearing for the safety of the hostages, at around 3:01 a.m., officers announced themselves and made an “emergency forced entry into the home.”
Actions taken by subject toward police: Upon hearing the officers enter the house, Nassar shot at them with his rifle, causing them to retreat, take cover outside the house and call for SWAT. An hour later at approximately 4:11 a.m., the SWAT officers made entry into the house and Nassar opened fire on them, fatally striking Senior Police Officer (SPO) Jorge Pastore and injuring another officer.
Reactions by the police: Other SWAT officers returned fire, justifiably killing Nassar.
How murdered? SPO Pastore was murdered while making an entry into a house where an armed subject had shot at responding officers and was holding two relatives as hostages.
What could have been done differently for the officer to still be alive? Fearing for the safety of the hostages, SPO Pastore bravely led the SWAT team as they entered the house knowing an armed perpetrator was waiting inside.
Would the officer have been justified in using deadly force before being murdered? SPO Pastore was ambushed and did not have the chance to use deadly force first.
Outcome for the cop-killer: Nassar was justifiably killed in the shootout.
Miscellaneous: Despite being on an FBI terror watch list, Nassar was in possession of a rifle, body armor and protective plates, ballistic helmets, ammunition, and “explosive devices or bomb-making materials.”
