Dec 2023. Blues Vol 39 No. 12

AROUND THE COUNTRY
AUSTIN, TX.
Senior Officer Jorge Pastore, a SWAT officer with the Austin
Police Department, was shot and killed by a suspect as he
attempted to rescue hostages.
The Austin Police Department
is reeling following a tragic
weekend in which two officers
died off duty, while one officer
and three civilians were killed in
a hostage situation Saturday.
Austin Police Officer Jorge Pastore,
38, was one of two officers
shot during a SWAT standoff
with the violent assailant. Pastore
died from his wounds; the
second officer was released
from Dell Seton Medical Center
Tuesday. On Wednesday, APD released
the names of the suspect,
Ahmed Mohamed Nassar, and
two civilians killed at the scene:
Eyman Elnemrnassar and Riad
Nassar.
The following day, retired APD
Officer Ray Shillito died following
a car crash in Leander. A
third officer, Senior Officer Kristy
Astran, a 15-year veteran of APD,
also died off duty over the weekend
of unknown causes.
APD personnel are remembering
Pastore as a brave, gregarious
colleague who was devoted
to the profession and eager to
help his community. Pastore
graduated from the Austin Police
Academy in 2019, but before that,
he worked as a paramedic in
Florida. There, he became one of
the people providing emergency
care to victims shot during the
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High
School shooting in Parkland, Fla.,
said Michael Bullock, an APD
night shift patrol officer (and
newly elected Austin Police Association
president) who worked
with Pastore on APD’s Counter
Assault Strike Team.
After becoming an Austin
police officer, Pastore poured
himself into training, investing
many hours above the required
amount studying police tactics.
His training and experience as
a medic led to him winning an
assignment in the CAST unit,
which was assembled to provide
a response to active shooter
situations or when someone is in
immediate danger. Later, Pastore
was assigned to APD’s SWAT
team.
APD Interim Chief Robin Henderson
praised Pastore’s bravery
in a Nov. 11 post on X. “Please
help me and our APD family pay
tribute to [Senior Police Officer]
Jorge Pastore for his brave & heroic
actions,” Henderson wrote.
OFFICER JORGE PASTORE
“Sir, we’ll take it from here.”
Pastore is survived by his wife,
two stepsons, parents, and two
sisters. Pastore is the first APD
officer killed in the line of duty
since Officer Jaime Padron was
fatally shot in 2012.
The actions Henderson referenced
in her post were undertaken
during a 911 call that came
in at 2:49am from a home in the
9300 block of Bernoulli Drive;
the caller said she was being
stabbed. Minutes later, officers
arrived. A third person escaped
the home and told officers the
assailant was still inside and
armed with a knife.
“He always had a smile on his
face. That’s what I remember
30 The Blues 40th Anniversary Issue