A man has been arrested in connection with a series of shootings that killed at least six people and injured two police officers and may have spanned multiple cities.
The suspect has yet to be identified, with officials only saying he is a man in his 30s. He is accused of murder in the case.
The first reported incident occurred shortly before 11 a.m. at a high school in the Texas capital, where the suspect allegedly shot and killed an Austin Independent School District police officer.
Shortly thereafter, authorities believe the suspect shot a man and a woman in a home in the southern part of the city. At 5 p.m., a male cyclist was also shot dead in the southern part of the city. He suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Two hours later, a second Austin police officer was injured by the suspect when someone called 911 to report a break-in at a home in the southwest part of the city.
A high-speed chase then ensued, during which the shooter was arrested. When officers returned to the home, they found two more people dead.
On Tuesday evening, officials announced that the same suspect was involved in the “gruesome” murder of a couple in their 50s whose bodies were found in a small bedroom in San Antonio, about 80 miles from Austin. The shooter had a connection to that house, law enforcement said, without elaborating. This murder occurred before the Austin shootings.
The suspect has yet to be identified. Officials say only that it is a man in his 30s who is being charged with capital murder after a crime spree in Texas
A man has been arrested in connection with a series of shootings that killed at least four people and injured two police officers and may have spanned multiple cities
Officers became aware of the gunman when he shot a school employee in the leg near the football field at Northeast Early College High School shortly before noon. This led to a school closure that lasted four hours.
Less than an hour later, the gunman went to a home in South Austin and shot and killed a repairman who was sitting in a car. The suspect shot through the window.
After the gunfire erupted, a woman came out and was then chased down the street by the gunman. He caught her and killed her, Fox Austin reports.
The suspect returned to the repairman’s car, threw his body on the sidewalk and stole the vehicle.
The next incident occurred around 5 p.m. when a cyclist was shot and injured. He was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Officers caught up with the shooter after receiving reports of a break-in on the Austral Loop in southwest Austin just before 7 p.m.
The gunman shot and wounded a second Austin police officer before fleeing. The officer’s injuries are not considered life-threatening. A 12-year-old officer shot at the suspect but did not hit him. She was placed on administrative leave as per protocol.
The suspect fled the scene, leaving police on a high-speed chase.
The chase ended after about 15 minutes when the suspect crashed his car. He was armed when police arrested him. Investigators discovered that the suspect had an arrest warrant for injuring a family member.
When police returned to the home where the break-in had been reported, they found two bodies and two other people.
“Questions remain as to why AISD Police and Austin Police did not issue a community-wide alert with a description of the suspect so residents should be on their guard,” Fox Austin senior Rudy Koski wrote on X.
The suspect has yet to be identified. Officials say only that it is a man in his 30s who started his crime in Austin on Tuesday morning
The carnage began just before 11 a.m. at Northeast Early College High School, where the suspect allegedly shot one of the Austin Independent School District officers
Minutes later he was in South Austin, where he is accused of shooting two people on Shadywood Drive
Neighbors claimed that the people who lived there had only moved in days before. The landlord brought cookies and apologized for any disruption caused by the construction work
In San Antonio, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said the couple found dead were “well known” in the community and that their home was “very well maintained.”
Salazar, who described the killings as “grisly,” said officials believe the couple was killed before the Austin shootings.
He did not provide any information about the cause of death, but said it was the result of a violent altercation. The couple’s bodies were placed so that they were pressed against a door.
“No one deserves to die the way he did,” the sheriff said.
Police were called to the scene after receiving a report of water leaking. Investigators believe the shooter hit a pipe.
After the Austin shootings, city police officials told their counterparts in San Antonio that the suspect was connected to the San Antonio home where the couple in their 50s were killed.
Neighbors claimed that the Austin home’s residents had moved in just days earlier, adding that he had recently brought cookies and apologized for any disruption caused by the construction. A vigil was held at the house on Tuesday evening.
Later in the day, around 7pm local time, police received reports of a break-in on the Austral Loop in the southwest of the city
The chase eventually ended with an accident near an intersection
Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a statement about the shooting.
“Our thoughts are with the family and loved ones of the Austin ISD police officer who was shot today near Northeast Early College High School,” Abbott said.
“Our ISD police officers play a critical role in keeping Texas students and faculty safe. “The state of Texas is making every available resource available to local law enforcement partners to ensure this dangerous criminal is caught and brought to justice.”
According to police, the deaths in Austin were the 67th and 68th homicides in the city in 2023.
At a news conference, Acting Austin Police Chief Robin Henderson declined to answer questions, saying the shooting was “complex.”