US: 6 Dead, 3 Injured in Series of Attacks in Texas; Suspect in Custody – News18

Four people were killed and at least three others were injured after a rampage in Texas in the United States. The shooting spree occurred over the span of several hours on Tuesday in Austin.

A man suspected to be behind the attack and also the deaths of two people near San Antonio was taken into custody, as per Texas authorities.

Police informed that the dead were found in many homes and the injured included two police officers and a bicyclist.

Addressing a news conference on Tuesday night, Austin interim police chief Robin Henderson, said that the accused who is in his 30s was charged with capital murder.

“We strongly believe one suspect is responsible for all of the incidents,” Henderson added. Police was unable to determine that these incidents were connected until the last incident occurred on Tuesday night.

Providing a timeline, Henderson said that an Austin independent school district police officer was shot and injured on Tuesday at about 10:45 a.m. Following this around noon, a man and a woman were found dead in a home.

Shortly before 5 p.m., another shooting occured where a male cyclist suffered injuries. Police responded at around 7 p.m. to a call of a burglary in progress at another home later found two people dead there. However how the four people died was not informed by Henderson.

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, Henderson said. The officer suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was taken to a hospital. The officer was listed in stable condition. Police said the man, who was not hit, drove away and police pursued him. He crashed at about 7:15 p.m. at a highway intersection and was taken into custody. The man had a gun, Henderson said.

The relationship between the man and the victims, if any, wasn’t immediately known, Henderson said. In Bexar County, about 80 miles (129 kilometres) south, Sheriff Javier Salazar said his agency got a call from Austin police at about 7:45 p.m. 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, Salazar said. Two people were found dead in the house, but Salazar didn’t say how they died. Salazar said it’s believed the deaths in the home happened before the attacks in Austin.

(with PTI inputs)