Governor Greg Abbott (R-TX) took to social media Sunday night to demand accountability after law enforcement arrested three suspects in connection with a weekend shooting rampage across the Austin area that left four people injured and rattled the region.
"These kids are serial criminals with a callous disregard for life," Gov. Abbott wrote on X. "If they are ever released from jail they will surely harm again." The governor then praised law enforcement for their work before directing his sharpest words at the justice system: "The DA and Court must do their job and keep these criminals behind bars."
Abbott's post came after a chaotic weekend in which suspects fired into at least ten locations across the Austin area, targeting buildings, apartment complexes, and two Austin Fire Department stations, even striking a firetruck.
The Suspects
Reports show that Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis identified two suspects as a 15-year-old and a 17-year-old. The 17-year-old already had an outstanding warrant for firearm theft from the same store where, just a day earlier, the 15-year-old had allegedly stolen a weapon.
Davis confirmed both guns used in the shootings were stolen, and said investigators had not yet begun interviewing the suspects as of Sunday evening.
The third suspect, also a juvenile, was apprehended around 9:30 p.m. near FM 973 and U.S. Highway 290 in Manor, after a 911 caller reported a suspicious person at a nearby gas station about a mile from where the suspects' vehicle had crashed.
A nearly 200-officer search involving SWAT teams, canine units, and air support preceded the arrest, with authorities crediting license plate reader technology as a key investigative tool.
Earlier in the day, residents across multiple Austin neighborhoods faced temporary shelter-in-place orders as the manhunt intensified. Austin Mayor Kirk Watson had described the shootings as "random" during an afternoon press conference.
All three suspects were transported to juvenile detention. Whether the courts will satisfy Governor Abbott's call for strict consequences remains to be seen.
