2 suspects arrested, 1 at large after Austin shootings

Austin police have arrested at least two suspects after a string of vehicle thefts, gun thefts and 12 shootings throughout Austin on Saturday and Sunday, including at least two that occurred at local fire stations. A third suspect was the subject of a manhunt in Manor on Sunday. At least four people were injured, city officials said Sunday. 

Live updates have ended. See a recap of Sunday’s events below.

The shelter-in-place in Manor was lifted just before 8 p.m. Sunday after what the Manor Police Department called an “extensive search involving nearly 200 officers including canine, SWAT, helicopter and drone support.”

Law enforcement had been searching for the suspect who fled after Manor police stopped a vehicle following a pursuit. Two of the occupants of the vehicle were arrested, and the third ran, police said. Law enforcement was unable to find the suspect and encouraged residents to be vigilant and call 911 if they see any suspicious activity.

The suspect is described as a Hispanic male in his mid- to late teens and was last seen wearing a gray shirt and black bottoms, according to Manor police.

— Katey Psencik, Breaking and Trending Editor

A message sent through the National Weather Service’s emergency alert system gave an “all clear” notice and said police activity between US 290, Old Kimbro Road, Bois-D-Arc Road and Gregg Manor Road had ended as of 7:44 p.m. Sunday.

The message said the alert had been sent at the request of the Travis County Office of Emergency Management from the Travis County Sheriff’s Office.

The alert did not say if the third suspect had been apprehended or if police believe they left the area.

— Katey Psencik, Breaking and Trending Editor

Manor police officers spotted the white Kia the two suspects were thought to be driving shortly after Austin police put out a “be on the lookout“ notice, manor police chief Ryan Phipps said in a news conference Sunday evening.

The officers made a U-turn and tried to pull the vehicle over, resulting in a pursuit through Old Town Manor, down U.S. 290 and ending northbound on FM 973, Phipps said. When the driver of the Kia tried to cross a grass field to get away from officers, the car crashed and the three suspects ran away, Phipps said.

Phipps said police are still looking for the third suspect as of 7 p.m. Sunday, and a shelter-in-place order remains in effect.

Manor police believe the suspect could be barricaded somewhere in the search area or could have left the area entirely.

“The possibilities are endless,” Phipps said. “He could be in a shed; he could be under a car; he could be in a drainage ditch.”

Phipps said law enforcement would search the area to ensure residents’ safety and determine whether the suspect left the area.

— Alex Driggars, Transportation Reporter

Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said in a Sunday press conference that two teenagers — a 15-year-old and a 17-year-old — are in custody in connection to a string of 12 shootings that occurred throughout the city between just before 4 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. Sunday.

Four people were shot with one getting critically injured, Davis said.

The 17-year-old has a warrant for theft of a gun from the same store that the 15-year-old stole a gun from Saturday, Davis said. The chief did not say from which store the guns were stolen. Davis said police were first alerted to a stolen vehicle at an apartment complex and later to the firearm theft, but investigators initially did not know the cases were connected.

The incidents were reported predominantly in South and East Austin and included gunfire at two fire stations, apartment buildings and homes, Davis said. A fire truck was struck while firefighters were behind it, and officers went door to door at some homes and apartment buildings to check whether anyone inside had been hit. Police did not release the locations of all 12 incidents, saying that information will be released later Sunday or Monday. 

Police located the two suspects — both unidentified but described as young Hispanic males — in Manor and conducted a traffic stop, during which they ran away along with a third person, Davis said. Davis said the two in custody were caught on camera during several of the 12 shooting incidents, but she was unsure at which point the third person got involved or the extent of that person’s involvement in the crimes. Police did not share a description of the third suspect.

The two teenagers are accused of stealing at least four vehicles during the spree, Davis said.

The victim who was critically wounded got treated with blood at the scene before being taken to a trauma center, Austin-Travis County EMS Chief Rob Luckritz said. Mayor Kirk Watson said that the injuries were serious but the person is in stable condition.

The investigation is still ongoing, and police are unsure of perpetrator motives.

“I don’t know what motive would drive anybody to come and drive around senselessly in the city, in multiple parts of the city, shooting,” Davis said.

The pair will be booked into juvenile detention, police said.

— Katey Psencik, Breaking and Trending Editor and Dante Motley, Breaking News Reporter

Nate Batten and Azalea Chapman of Elgin said they were sitting in their pickup in the parking lot of the Valero station at Ralph Ritchie Road and Suncrest Road in Manor about 3:30 pm Sunday when police came and cleared the parking lot, ostensibly to set up a command post. Meanwhile, a police helicopter circled overhead. 

“We thought somebody was getting life-flighted, then they’re like, we need to clear everybody out of that Valero.”

The Valero lot was still closed off by 6 p.m. as police, firefighters, medics and a SWAT team staged there.

— Alex Driggars, Transportation Reporter

Michael Cargill, owner of Central Texas Gun Works, told the American-Statesman the suspect in the image police officials sent to media outlets Sunday afternoon appears to be in his store — but he’s “100% confident that person did not purchase a gun from us.”

“I don’t know what he was doing but if he had purchased a firearm from us, I would have sent law enforcement the paperwork he filled out for the purchase,” Cargill said.

Cargill said he does not know the names of any of the suspects involved in the shootings. He also declined to say how he could be so sure that one of them did not purchase a firearm from his store.

“I don’t want to get into the details of my security system functions or how I know, but I know,” Cargill said.

Cargill said he sent footage from surveillance cameras at his store to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives after he saw news reports of the shooting spree. He said it’s standard practice for him to send surveillance video to law enforcement when he sees news of some shootings, but he hadn’t reviewed all of the video personally so he couldn’t say at what time the image shared by law enforcement was captured.

Law enforcement has not said if the man in the photos is one of the two arrested in connection to the shootings. The Austin Police Department and Austin Mayor Kirk Watson are expected to reveal more at a press conference Sunday.

— Austin Sanders, Public Safety Reporter

Austin police say two suspects are in custody in connection with a string of at least nine shooting incidents throughout Austin over the weekend.

The search for an additional suspect has prompted a heavy law enforcement presence in Manor, including the issuance of a shelter-in-place for the following areas:

Ralph Ritchie and Suncrest Road
N FM 973 near Suncrest Road and Tower Road
Presidential Meadows subdivision
Greenbury subdivision
Stonewater subdivision

Dozens of officers from the Austin Police Department, Travis County Sheriff’s Office, Texas Department of Public Safety and other agencies are searching a residential area near US 290 and FM 973.

The shelter-in-place directive originally issued for a large section of South Austin has been cancelled, according to Austin police.

— Katey Psencik, Breaking and Trending Editor and Alex Driggars, Transportation Reporter

A shooter or shooters have fired upon at least nine locations around Austin throughout the weekend, injuring as many as four people, according to police. Police are asking for the public’s urgent help in finding them.

At least two fire stations were shot at, police said. Law enforcement officials have not shared any additional information on the locations of the shootings. Austin police will hold a press conference at 4:30 p.m. to share details.

A shelter-in-place has been issued for the area enclosed within the following roadways in South Austin: South Slaughter Lane, East McKinney Falls Parkway, North Ben White Boulevard and West Escarpment Boulevard.

See a map of the area included in the shelter-in-place:

Investigators described a possible suspect as a White or Hispanic male in his late teens.

As of around 2:10 p.m. police said on social media they believe that the suspect or suspects might be traveling in a white KIA Optima. Police have also connected the crime to a black or dark blue 2012 Hyundai Sonata with a broken right-side passenger window.

Police said people should stay alert and call 911 if they see the suspected vehicle or know where the suspect or suspects may be. Police said the public should not approach them.

Anyone with information can call APD’s Aggravated Assault Unit at 512-974-5177. Anonymous tips can also be submitted through Capital Area Crime Stoppers at austincrimestoppers.org or 512-472-8477. A reward of up to $1,000 may be available for information leading to an arrest.

The Austin Firefighters Association said two fire stations were hit by gunfire during the weekend shootings, including one late Saturday and another Sunday morning.

No firefighters were injured, and the union reported only minor damage to at least one fire apparatus and both stations. Fire stations were placed on citywide lockdown, but crews remained fully staffed and continued responding to calls, including shooting scenes across Austin.

— Dante Motley, Breaking News Reporter and Tony Plohetski, Investigative Reporter