Austin Police Department Chief Lisa Davis said Sunday that investigators arrested a 15-year-old and a 17-year-old believed to be connected to 12 shooting incidents across the city that injured four people and struck two fire stations.
The shootings began late Saturday and continued into Sunday morning, Davis said at a news conference. “We have two suspects in custody,” Davis said, adding, “We have a 15-year-old and a 17-year-old in custody.” Authorities said the 17-year-old had an outstanding warrant related to the theft of a firearm from the same store where the 15-year-old allegedly stole a gun.
Police said the suspects allegedly stole multiple vehicles and fired shots at apartment complexes, homes, pedestrians and two fire stations. Davis said one station was shot at twice and that a fire truck was struck while firefighters were nearby. Austin-Travis County EMS Chief Robert Luckritz said emergency responders treated victims at four separate shooting scenes; one victim suffered critical injuries and was reported in stable condition, and three others had non-life-threatening wounds.
Officials initially issued a shelter-in-place order for an area bounded by South Slaughter Lane, East McKinney Falls Parkway, North Ben White Boulevard and West Escarpment Boulevard while officers searched for suspects; the order was lifted after the arrests, police said. Authorities said a possible third person fled from a vehicle stop in the Manor area during the response.
Investigators said the suspects cycled through several stolen vehicles during the spree, including a black or dark blue Hyundai, a gold Hyundai sedan, a silver Mazda four-door and a white Kia Optima, and urged residents not to leave keys or key fobs inside vehicles. Davis called the probe “complex” because of the number of scenes and stolen vehicles and said license plate reader technology could have helped connect the incidents more quickly. Austin Mayor Kirk Watson praised the coordinated response from local and regional law enforcement agencies, authorities said.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
