Texas police have arrested a gunman who allegedly went on a violent city-wide shooting spree, killing 6 people and injuring three more — including two police officers — on Tuesday, Dec. 5.
The male suspect was arrested and charged with Capital Murder of Multiple Persons late 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’s Interim Chief of Police Robin Henderson said at a press conference Wednesday morning, Dec. 6.
While police did not name the suspect, sources told KXAN the gunman is Shane James, 34.
Travis County jail records show a man with the same name was booked into the jail at 1:30 a.m. Wednesday morning and charged with capital murder of multiple people, the outlet reported.
The rampage began at a school Northeast of Austin and spanned several hours across multiple locations before ending just after 7 p.m.
At 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 on Tuesday, police received multiple calls regarding 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 chased her down the street and fatally shot her, according to Fox 7. He then stole the handyman’s truck and left the area.
A third shooting took place in South Austin at around 4:43 p.m. when a cyclist reported they were shot and suffering from non-life-threatening injuries.
Just 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.
According to Henderson, the male suspect opened fire at the responding officers, striking them multiple times, before fleeing the scene and igniting 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 transported to a local hospital and is listed as being in stable condition.
Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement that his heart was with 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 on keeping Texas students and school faculty safe. The State of Texas is offering all available resources to local law enforcement partners who are working to ensure this dangerous criminal is caught and brought to justice.”
Henderson noted the investigation was in its early stages and the information was preliminary, but did not connect the several crime scenes until the very last shooting.
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office is also investigating the arrested man as the suspect in a double homicide near San Antonio that left a pair of 50-year-olds dead inside a home, Sheriff Javier Salazar said according to KXAN.
The unidentified suspect was booked into Travis County Jail on the Capital Murder charge along with an outstanding warrant for Assault with Injury Family Violence, with more charges pending, Henderson said.
She also noted an APD officer with 12 years with the department, had discharged their weapon and was placed on administrative duty, per protocol.
