Two teens were arrested, and one suspect is on the lam, for at least 10 “random” shootings in Austin over the weekend — leading to widespread terror among residents and a shelter in place across a massive swath of the state’s capital.
A 15-year-old boy and a 17-year-old boy were arrested for the spate of “senseless” gunfire, including two shootings at fire stations, between Saturday night and Sunday morning, Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said during a press conference on Sunday.
Four people were injured during the weekend violence, including one person with critical injuries, and the three others with non-life-threatening injuries, Davis told reporters.
A whopping 20 calls were made to emergency responders across South and East Austin in connection with the unthinkable rampage. The calls included reports of gunfire striking trucks at fire stations, and bullets flying into apartment buildings, cops said.
Two people were also shot while talking outside of a store when the baby-faced crew allegedly drove by and fired out of a car window. A man walking his dog on Sunday morning was also struck in the back by gunfire, police said.
The teens, who have not been identified, allegedly stole over four vehicles during the shocking crime spree, helping police connect the separate shootings.
While authorities searched for the suspects, the city ordered residents of a large part of South Austin to shelter in place on Sunday. The order has since been lifted after cops cuffed the two teens during a traffic stop, the Austin Police Department wrote in a post on X.
However, a shelter-in-place order remains in effect in the Manor area as of Sunday evening as a search continues for a third suspect who fled from a car during the traffic stop where the two other teens were apprehended, according to the Manor Police Department.
The two teens wanted by authorities attempted to run, but were arrested when cops pulled over a white Kia. It is unclear how the third suspect is involved with the shootings, Davis added.
The 17-year-old already had a warrant for stealing a gun from a shop where the 15-year-old snatched a firearm on Saturday. It appeared the guns used during the shootings were both stolen, officials alleged.
A motive in the attacks is not immediately clear.
“I think it touches everybody, and it doesn’t matter whether it was a car dealership that was struck or it happened to be a fire station or police station, these are dangerous kids out causing havoc in this city, and they had to be taken into custody,” Davis maintained.
“The police department did a fantastic job of connecting these… piecing all of that together was complex, but it was done. And it was done with the technology that we do have,” she said.
An investigation into the shootings remains ongoing.
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