Police in Texas arrested a gunman who allegedly went on a violent shooting rampage across the city, killing 6 people and wounding three more, including two police officers, on Tuesday.
The suspect was arrested and charged with capital murder of multiple people Tuesday night, the Austin Police Department said.
“The suspect is in custody and no longer poses a threat to our Austin community,” Austin Police Department Acting Police Chief Robin Henderson said at a news conference Wednesday morning.
While police did not name the suspect, sources tell KXAN the gunman is 34-year-old Shane James.
Travis County Jail records show a man with the same name was booked into jail at 1:30 a.m. Wednesday morning and charged with capital murder of multiple people.
The rampage began at a school northeast of Austin and lasted several hours at several locations before ending shortly after 7 p.m.
Around 10:43 a.m., an Austin Independent School District police officer was shot in the leg at Northeast Early College High School.
Just before noon Tuesday, police received multiple calls about a double homicide with a male and female victim.
A witness said the suspect shot a handyman sitting in his truck outside a home before a woman inside the home confronted the gunman.
The suspect crashed his vehicle at the intersection of State Highway 45 and FM 1826. Jay Janner / USA TODAY NETWORK
The suspect chased her down the street and fatally shot her, according to Fox 7. He then stole the maintenance crew’s van and left the area.
A third shooting took place in South Austin around 4:43 p.m. when a bicyclist reported he was shot and suffering from non-life-threatening injuries.
Shortly before 7 p.m., police responded to an active burglary in a residential neighborhood, and when police arrived they found the suspect in a backyard, along with two bodies inside the home, according to KXAN.
An Austin police officer works the scene of a shooting in southwest Austin on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023. Jay Janner/USA TODAY NETWORK
According to Henderson, the suspect opened fire on responding officers, striking them several times, before fleeing the scene and initiating a police chase.
Twenty minutes later, the suspect crashed his vehicle at the intersection of State Highway 45 and FM 1826 and was arrested.
The officer was taken to a local hospital and is in stable condition.
Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement that his heart went out to the “loved ones of the Austin ISD police officer who was shot” and that he was praying for the officer’s quick recovery.
“Our ISD police officers play a critical role in keeping students and teachers safe in Texas schools. “The State of Texas is offering every available resource to local law enforcement partners who are working to ensure this dangerous criminal is captured and brought to justice.”
Henderson said the investigation was in its early stages and the information was preliminary, but he did not connect the various crime scenes until the final shooting.
Austin Police Department Acting Police Chief Robin Henderson speaks at a news conference Wednesday morning following the arrest of the suspect. KXAN
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office is also investigating the man arrested as a suspect in a double homicide near San Antonio that left a pair of people in their 50s dead inside a home, Sheriff Javier Salazar said according to KXAN.
The unidentified suspect was booked into the Travis County Jail on the charge of capital murder along with an outstanding warrant for assault causing injury and family violence, with more charges pending, Henderson said.
He also noted that an APD officer with 12 years in the department had fired his weapon and was assigned to administrative duties, according to protocol.
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