Austin Police booking photo of Shane James. James is suspected of killing six people Tuesday and wounding three others, including to Austin officers.Austin PD
A man suspected of killing at least six people and wounding three others, including two police officers, in a wave of shootings in two Central Texas cities on Tuesday is in custody facing multiple counts of capital murder, officials say.
The violent spree began with the shooting of a police officer outside an Austin high school and ended with the suspect crashing his car during a police pursuit Tuesday evening, Austin interim Police Chief Robin Henderson said.
The wounded Austin Independent School district police officer is reportedly in stable condition, NBC DFW reports.
The suspect opened fire on another Austin officer in the backyard of a residence, striking the officer multiple times. The wounded officer returned fire and sought cover, Henderson said. The officer suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was in stable condition at a hospital, Fox News reports.
In all, four who died were found in two homes in Austin, and two others were found in a home more than 80 miles away in the San Antonio area.
Austin Police identified the suspect in the shootings Wednesday afternoon as 34-year-old Shane James and released a booking photo. Online jail records in Travis County show he was being held on charges of capital murder and misdemeanors from other counties.
KSAT reports the suspect was bonded out of Bexar County Jail two years ago by an activist group.
Bexar County booking records obtained by KSAT show Shane James, 34, was bonded out in early 2022 by Laquita Garcia. Garcia is statewide policy coordinator for the Texas Organizing Project (TOP), an area group that advocates for bail reform.
Sources told KSAT that James had three pending cases in Bexar County for misdemeanor assault causing bodily injury-family.
Warrants for James’ re-arrest were issued in early March 2022, a law enforcement source told KSAT on the condition of anonymity. County officials have not said why James was not taken back into custody at any point over the past 21 months, despite the pending warrants.
