Santana Gonzales, 21, faces a murder charge in the death of 17-year-old Edwin Pulgar and remains a suspect in other cases.
AUSTIN, TX — A 21-year-old man accused of fatally shooting a teenager in southeast Austin has been arrested, and police say he is also a suspect in several other recent shootings under investigation across the city.
Austin police identified the suspect as Santana Gonzales, who faces a murder charge in the Aug. 30 death of 17-year-old Edwin Pulgar. Investigators said Gonzales has gang affiliations and is suspected in other shootings that occurred during the weeks before Pulgar was killed. Authorities have not announced charges against Gonzales in all of those additional cases, and police have released few details about how investigators connected him to them.
Police were called at about 2:58 p.m. Aug. 30 to the 1900 block of Woodland Avenue. Officers found Pulgar inside a vehicle after it had crashed into a fence. Pulgar had suffered a gunshot wound, according to the Austin Police Department. Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services provided lifesaving treatment, but Pulgar was pronounced dead at the scene at 3:06 p.m.
Homicide detectives and crime scene specialists investigated the shooting. Police said their investigation determined that Pulgar was driving his vehicle when he encountered Gonzales, who was on foot. Authorities allege Gonzales shot Pulgar while the teenager was inside the vehicle. Police have not publicly explained what led to the encounter or whether Gonzales and Pulgar knew each other before the shooting.
In the first hours after Pulgar’s death, investigators had not publicly identified a suspect. Witnesses reported seeing a young man leave the area shortly before officers arrived, and police released a description and an image as detectives searched for information. The initial investigation included witness interviews, neighborhood canvassing and the collection of surveillance video and other evidence.
Detectives later identified Gonzales as the suspect, and an arrest warrant was issued Sept. 1 on a murder charge. Austin police then asked the U.S. Marshals Service Lone Star Fugitive Task Force to help locate him. Federal authorities said task force members eventually saw Gonzales enter a residence in the 6500 block of Skycrest Drive in Austin.
The task force called in the Austin Police Department SWAT team, which surrounded the residence Sept. 9. Gonzales was taken into custody without incident, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. He was transported to Austin police and later booked into the Travis County Jail. Another man at the location, 25-year-old Nathan Carrion, was also arrested on an unrelated probation violation warrant stemming from a robbery charge, federal authorities said.
Police said the homicide investigation has also led detectives to examine Gonzales in connection with other recent violence. APD’s public statement said he is a suspect in other shootings from the past month. FOX 7 Austin, citing police, reported that those investigations include a deadly conduct incident in July and two aggravated assault cases in August. Authorities have not publicly released enough information to establish Gonzales’ alleged role in each incident, and being identified as a suspect does not establish guilt.
The additional investigations remain significant because they could determine whether further charges are filed. FOX 7 reported that Gonzales was being held on murder and deadly conduct charges following his arrest. Police have not publicly detailed the evidence in each of the other shooting investigations or announced that every case attributed to him has resulted in a criminal charge.
The Aug. 30 shooting is being investigated by Austin police as the city’s 39th homicide of 2026. Investigators continue to seek information about Pulgar’s death and the other shootings in which Gonzales has been identified as a suspect. Gonzales is accused of murder, but the charge remains an allegation unless proven in court.
Author note: Last updated September 12, 2026.