A shooter in Texas has carried out a series of attacks that left six dead and three wounded. The Austin Police Department confirmed that Shane James has been arrested. They “strongly believe” he committed the murders.
The shootings occurred on Tuesday and the suspect has been charged with capital murder.
Police reported that six people were killed and three others injured in a series of shootings and homicides that occurred across two Texas towns on Tuesday. A suspect was arrested and charged with capital homicide.
Authorities confirmed that two officers were also shot and killed in Austin. Authorities said that the suspect, who was not named, is also responsible for the deaths of two other people in San Antonio.
The interim Austin Police Chief Robin Henderson said to reporters on Wednesday morning that the man had been arrested after he crashed while speeding away from a shootout with a policeman that resulted in “multiple bullet wounds.”
Authorities are still investigating the motives behind the shootings, and the relationship between the gunman’s victims and the suspected shooter.
Investigators are working hard to establish any possible relationship James had with those who were shot, and to find out what caused the violence. Detectives believe that the two victims discovered at the San Antonio home are family members of the suspected shooter. However, this has not been confirmed.
Henderson, at a press conference held Tuesday night, said: “Based on information gathered throughout the investigation we are confident that one suspect is accountable for all the incidents.”
Later, it was confirmed that the suspect’s parents were two of the victims.
Bexar County Sheriff’s Office has said that the suspect in a shooting spree in Austin, which spanned several locations and resulted in multiple deaths as well as two injuries to law enforcement officers, could be linked to a double homicide near San Antonio in Bexar County.
According to sources, the parents of the suspect were the victims of a double murder that occurred in Bexar County.
Around 10:43 am, a school resource agent was injured by a gunshot near Northeast Early College High in Austin. The incident threw the city into an emergency.
Around two hours after that, the violence escalated when a woman and man were found shot to death on the south side of the city. Five hours later, a suspect shot and killed a cyclist in W. Slaughter Lane. The situation became more serious later in the day when officers who responded to a possible burglary and the suspect exchanged gunfire. One of the police officers was shot multiple times, but not fatally.
After the altercation with the suspect, police officers engaged in a high-speed pursuit which ended when his vehicle crashed around 7:14 pm. Officers found a gun in his possession when he was arrested. Officers found two other victims, who had been fatally shot in a house that the suspect was accused of burglarizing. Authorities believe the San Antonio killings were the first victims of the gunman.