Three youths are in police custody after a spree of at least 10 shootings wounded four people who appeared to be targeted randomly in Austin, Texas, according to authorities.
The suspects who were arrested in connection with the shootings also allegedly took aim at various buildings and houses while driving around the capital city in stolen cars, the Austin police chief, Lisa Davis, said Sunday. Before the suspects were jailed, city officials temporarily ordered people residing in a large southern section of Austin to shelter in place, an exceptional public safety measure that spoke to the indiscriminate nature of the spree.
“We don’t have any specific motive that has been identified,” the Austin mayor, Kirk Watson, said after the arrests. “In fact, these actions appear to be random.”
Officials say a pair of boys, ages 15 and 17, are accused of firing at two fire stations, apartment buildings and homes amid a series of robberies and shootings from Saturday afternoon to Sunday morning.
The younger of those boys allegedly stole the gun used to carry out the shootings. Meanwhile, the older boy had purportedly been wanted for stealing a separate gun.
Of the four people who were reported shot during the teens’ alleged spree of crimes, one was said to be critically injured. Three reportedly had wounds that were not considered life-threatening.
One of the victims was shot in his back while out for a walk with his dog, Davis recounted, adding: “I don’t know what motive would drive anybody to come and drive around senselessly in this city and shoot.”
Police said they captured the two alleged shooters after pulling them over in one of four cars that the pair was accused of stealing. Both unsuccessfully tried to run, police said.
Investigators on Sunday night said they arrested a third person who had been suspected of being in the car with the shooters. That person was apprehended while at a gasoline station in the community of Manor, about 15 miles (24km) outside Austin, and allegedly tried to run, too.
Police said the third suspect was a minor but did not provide any more details, including an exact age. They also did not name any of the suspects, as often can be the case in crimes allegedly committed by juveniles.
Local residents who live in the area affected by the shooting spree as well as the accompanying shelter-in-place order spoke with Austin’s CBS affiliate, and they described how unsettling the experience was.
“It’s alarming,” one, identified as Ryan Nowlin, told the channel.
Another, identified as Samantha Martinez, echoed Nowlin, saying, “It scared me. It scared me so much.”
The shooting spree in Austin was only one of the latest high-profile instances of gun violence in the US.
As of early Monday, there had been 150 mass shootings reported across the country for the years so far, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
The archive, a nonpartisan reference resource, defines mass shootings as cases in which four or more victims are wounded or killed.
Many in the US have called for more substantial federal gun control given the high number of mass shootings annually reported in the county. But Congress has largely been unable or unwilling to heed such pleas.
The Associated Press contributed reporting
