AUSTIN (KXAN) – A daylong series of attacks in Austin has left four people dead and at least three wounded, and a man believed to be connected to the attacks — and the deaths of two people near San Antonio — has been taken into custody, Texas authorities said.
Those who died were found in two homes in Austin and a residence east of San Antonio. The injured, who were shot, included two police officers and a bicyclist, police said.
The suspect, described as a man in his 30s, was charged with capital murder, Austin Interim Police Chief Robin Henderson said at a news conference Tuesday night. His name has not been released, but sources tell Nexstar’s KXAN the suspect 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. on Wednesday morning and charged with capital murder of multiple people.
“We strongly believe one suspect is responsible for all of the incidents,” Henderson said of the Austin attacks. She said that police “did not determine that these incidents were connected until the last incident occurred” Tuesday night.
Chief Henderson said the suspect is accused of killing two people on Shadywood Drive in south Austin and shooting an Austin Independent School District officer at Northeast Early College High School on Tuesday morning. The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office also said a suspected double homicide near San Antonio is likely tied to the suspect as well.
Henderson and others provided a timeline, saying an Austin independent school district police officer was shot in the leg about 10:45 a.m. Tuesday in a parking lot at Northeast Early College High School. Around noon, police then responded to a home after getting calls about gunshots found two people with signs of trauma. Police say one was dead and the other died at a hospital.
Another shooting happened shortly before 5 p.m., when a male cyclist suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Police responding around 7 p.m. to a call of a burglary in progress at another home later found two people dead at the residence.
Henderson didn’t say how those four people may have been killed.
During the last call, an Austin police officer saw a man in the backyard. The man shot at the officer and the officer returned fire, Henderson said. The officer suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was taken to a hospital. The officer was listed in stable condition.
The suspect was chased by police until he crashed at an Austin intersection.
Austin ISD officer shot at Northeast ECHS
AISD Police Chief Wayne Sneed said the sergeant who was shot is responsible for several campuses and was on his daily check of Northeast Early College High School when he was attacked. At about 10:40 a.m., he called to report he was taking on gunfire from someone and had been hit in the leg.
At about 10:43 a.m., a school resource officer from the campus arrived to provide backup and assisted the injured sergeant.
The campus went into lockdown at 10:46 a.m.. About a minute later, APD and other agencies began arriving. Sneed said at least 15 agencies responded in total. The high school did a controlled release of its students due to the ongoing investigation, according to the district.
Gov. Greg Abbott released a statement Tuesday afternoon sharing his reaction to the officer being shot in the line of duty.
“Our hearts are with the family and loved ones of the Austin ISD police officer who was shot near Northeast Early College High School today,” Abbott said. “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. Cecilia and I ask our fellow Texans to join us in praying for the officer’s swift recovery and the entire Northeast Early College High School community.”
