Suspect held after six killed and three injured in series of attacks in Texas
6 December 2023, 13:04
Four people died in Austin, while another two were found dead in San Antonio, officers said.
A day-long series of attacks in Austin, Texas, has left four people dead and at least three injured, authorities have said.
One man believed to be connected to these attacks as well as the deaths of two other people near San Antonio has been taken into custody.
The six dead were found in several homes. The injured included two police officers and a cyclist.
The suspect, who is in his 30s, was charged with murder, Austin interim police chief Robin Henderson said. The man’s name has not been released.
“We strongly believe one suspect is responsible for all of the incidents,” Ms Henderson said of the Austin attacks.
She said that police “did not determine that these incidents were connected until the last incident occurred” on Tuesday night.
Ms Henderson said an Austin independent school district police officer was shot and injured at about 10.45am local time (4.45pm GMT) on Tuesday.
Then, at about noon, a man and a woman were found dead in a home.
Another shooting happened shortly before 5pm (11pm GMT), when a male cyclist suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Police responded around 7pm (1am) to a call of a burglary in progress at another home later found two people dead there.
Ms Henderson did not say how the four people died.
During the last call, an Austin police officer saw a man in the back yard. The man shot at the officer and the officer returned fire, Ms Henderson said. The officer suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was taken to hospital, where he is in a stable condition.
Police said the man, who was not hit, drove away and police pursued him. He crashed at about 7.15pm at a highway intersection and was taken into custody. The man had a gun, Ms Henderson said.
The relationship between the man and the victims, if any, was not immediately known, Ms Henderson said.
In Bexar County, about 80 miles south, Sheriff Javier Salazar said his officers received a call from Austin police at about 7.45pm about some shootings. They said the man they had in custody had links to a residence east of San Antonio.
As two deputies approached that home, “I believe they saw water coming out of the residence, appearing as if something was leaking inside,” Mr Salazar said.
Two people were found dead in the house, but the sheriff did not say how they died.
Mr Salazar said it is believed the deaths in the home happened before the attacks in Austin.
