Austin’s ‘Random’ Weekend Shooting Spree Suspects Leaving 4 Injured and City on Lockdown Finally Caught: Here’s What We Know

Texas authorities have arrested all three suspects in a series of shootings that happened in Austin over the weekend, resulting in injuries to four people. Significant areas of Texas‘s capital were reportedly placed under lockdown due to the incident. While the investigation into the matter continued, the city had asked its residents to stay inside their homes.

According to People, during a press conference on Sunday, May 17, Austin Police Department Chief Lisa Davis had confirmed that two suspects had been taken into custody in connection with nearly 10 shootings throughout the city, while the authorities were still searching for the third suspect, who was believed to be near the Austin suburb of Manor.

The Austin Police Department announced late Sunday night that a third suspect was also arrested. “Third suspect has been taken into custody by Manor PD,” the official update on X read.

Mayor Kirk Watson had also noted that the incident unfolded on Saturday and Sunday, with two shootings targeting Austin Fire Department (AFD) stations. He also believed that the crimes were “random,” as he said, “We don’t have any specific motive that has been identified. In fact, these actions appear to be random. It appears that as part of this, people are changing vehicles.”

The KXAN report stated that one victim had serious injuries during the incident, while three people sustained minor injuries. Meanwhile, Davis shared that the arrested suspects were identified as teens aged 17 and 15, respectively.

Authorities said the former reportedly already faced a warrant in connection with a theft of a gun, while the 15-year-old is alleged to have stolen a gun from the same location on Saturday. According to investigators, the two teens also robbed four vehicles during the series of shooting incidents.

On the other hand, the police department urged the public on its social media to remain indoors. In an official post, it stated, “Austin Police officers continue to search for suspects linked to multiple shootings and have issued a shelter in place in the areas of South Slaughter Lane, East McKinney Falls Parkway, North Ben White Blvd., and West Escarpment Boulevard. Residents in the surrounding area are instructed to stay indoors until further notice.”

Another report by CBS Austin details that, as per police authorities, the first shooting incident took place around 9 p.m. on Saturday on the 6700 block of Wentworth Drive in East Austin. At the time, one of the suspects allegedly opened fire in the direction of the city’s Fire Station 26.

Another shooting took place around 8 a.m. on Sunday near the James Ranch Road and Ballydawn Drive junction in southeast region. The report cites authorities stating that a man was shot once by the gunfire, following which he was rushed to the hospital, where he remains in serious but stable condition.

A third shooting reportedly occurred in the 2800 block of Montebello Road, when gunfire was targeted toward Fire Station 32 around 10:50 a.m. on Sunday.

In a conversation with KVUE, the AFD said that no firefighters were injured in the shootings and only slight damage was reported.