AUSTIN (KXAN) — “I thought it was a good time to relax and watch a movie,” 76-year-old Kathy Struck said about the afternoon of March 16. Her daughter Jennifer had just left for the grocery store.
The back door was unlocked.
“All of a sudden, I turn my head, and there’s a man in my bedroom,” Struck said, adding that the man also went through her pantry and refrigerator.
She said she stayed calm and got him to leave, locking the door behind him.
“Then I heard noise, I heard loud banging,” Struck said. He got back in, breaking through the laundry room window. And his demeanor changed, she said.
“Destroying things, and he was moving the washer and dryer, so at that time, I decided I better call 911,” Struck said. Between the call and the time police got there, Struck said the man got into her toolbox. “They sent a policeman. The minute he saw the man, he pulled his gun and said ‘Drop the hammer.’”
Police said the man was experiencing homelessness.
This happened in central Austin off of North Lamar Boulevard. The Austin Police Department (APD) said the man barricaded himself in the laundry room.
“When officers arrived, they made multiple attempts to get the suspect out of the room using commands and pepper balls,” the department said in a statement. “After a round of pepper balls, officers were successful getting the suspect out and making an arrest.”
While police worked to get the man out of Struck’s house, she said one officer stayed with her in her room.
“He kept me busy talking. We could hear what was going on out there,” she said. Struck said she saw crews take the man away in an ambulance.
He faces burglary charges, according to police.
KXAN learned of Struck’s story when her neighbors reached out about growing homeless activity at an abandoned building nearby on Old Koenig Lane.
The City told us it’s aware of concerns related to the building, and has previously requested support from the Austin Police Department in clearing the camps set up inside. Following code violations related to trash and needing to secure the property – the Develop Services Department says city contractors have repeatedly installed new fences and boarded up the property.
The fire department said a person experiencing homelessness was responsible for a fire at that very building last week. According to the Development Services Department, staff are meeting with the Building Standards Commission next month to request a demolition order.
While police said the man who broke into Struck’s home is listed as homeless, they could not confirm he was staying at that building.
“It’s hard because a large percentage of these homeless people are mentally ill,” Struck said, adding that she feels compassion towards the people setting up camp at the abandoned building.
Her neighbor Samantha Sampson expressed a similar sentiment.
“I don’t blame them for trying to find shelter they’re doing what they need to do to survive as people,” Sampson said.
Austin’s Homeless Strategy Office said staff “and our partners have been regularly conducting outreach in the area,” explaining that includes “services on a voluntary basis” and providing shelter beds when they’re available.
As for Struck, she hopes more help comes.
“The city’s got to figure all this out,” she said.
Hear directly from Struck about her experience tonight on KXAN News at 6.