AUSTIN, TX – A man is under arrest following a series of shootings that reportedly resulted in six fatalities and three injuries, including two law enforcement officers, in two Texas counties on Tuesday, according to officials.
The accused, whose identity and motive remain undisclosed, faces capital murder charges with the possibility of further charges to be filed, stated Austin’s Acting Police Chief Robin Henderson during a press briefing on Tuesday evening.
The violent rampage in Austin initiated at approximately 10:45 a.m. on Bachman Drive, where a police officer from Austin Independent School district was shot and wounded, Henderson reported.
Roughly an hour later, emergency dispatchers received calls about a double homicide involving a man and woman at Shady Wood Drive, as disclosed by the interim chief.
The third shooting unfolded just prior to 5 p.m., Henderson revealed, when officers arrived at West Slaughter Lane and discovered a male cyclist who had been shot, but his injuries were not life-threatening.
Around 6:45 p.m., another shooting was reported. An Austin police officer, responding to a reported burglary on Austral Loop, was fired upon by the suspect in the backyard of a residence, and was hit multiple times.
The injured officer retaliated and took cover. His injuries were non-critical and he was in stable condition at a local hospital, Henderson confirmed.
The suspect, who was unscathed in the gunfire exchange, escaped the scene in a vehicle, which he later crashed following a chase with other officers. He was subsequently apprehended.
Upon investigating the reported burglary site, police discovered two additional deceased victims.
The suspect is believed to have ties to a residence in Bexar County, leading Austin police to alert authorities there, according to Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar.
Salazar reported that deputies discovered two middle-aged victims deceased in the home, in what appeared to be a “grisly” double homicide. He suggested that these murders likely transpired prior to the Austin shootings, but the relationship between the suspect and these victims remains uncertain.