TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas — Police on Wednesday identified the man suspected of killing six people and injuring several more in Texas one day earlier.
Update 5:11 p.m. EST Dec. 6: Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon that the gunman’s parents were among the six killed, according to The Associated Press.
The suspect, Shane James, 34, was arrested earlier after he was confronted by police during a mental health call at his parents’ house, the AP reported. James was not arrested at the time even though there was a warrant for cutting his ankle monitor off.
Salazar said James will be charged with capital murder in the next few days, the AP reported.
— Jessica Goodman, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Original story: Authorities booked Shane James, 34, into Travis County Jail around 2:30 a.m. on charges including capital murder of multiple persons, jail records show. He was being held without bond.
On Tuesday, police said James was in custody following a series of “violent incidents” in Austin and Bexar County.
“The nature of the relationship, if any, between the victims and the suspect is unknown,” Interim Austin Police Chief Robin Henderson said Tuesday.
The chief said James is believed to have shot an Austin Independent School District police officer around 10:45 a.m. outside Northeast Early College High School. The officer was shot in the leg and is expected to fully recover, according to KTBC and school district officials.
Just over an hour later, 911 callers reported that they heard shots fired in the 7300 block of Shadywood Drive. Responding police found a man and a woman dead. The pair was not immediately identified.
Just before 5 p.m., another person called 911 to report that a cyclist had been shot at 5701 West Slaughter Lane. Authorities did not elaborate on the man’s injuries, although Henderson said his wounds did not appear to be life-threatening.
The next shooting happened around 6:50 p.m. when a 911 caller reported a burglary going on in the 5300 block of Austral Loop. An officer quickly responded and found a man, identified as James, in the backyard of the home. Henderson said James “immediately opened fire,” striking the officer several times. The officer returned fire but did not hit James, who fled from the area in a vehicle.
Authorities gave chase. About 15 minutes later, they took James into custody after he crashed at the intersection of South Highway 45 and FM 1826, officials said.
Inside the home on Austral Loop, authorities found two people dead. They were not identified.
The officer shot by James was taken to a hospital with injuries that did not appear to be life-threatening, Henderson said. The chief added he was in stable condition Tuesday night.
After the shootings, police contacted the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office after finding a connection between the suspect and a home in East Bexar County, Sheriff Javier Salazar said. Authorities did not immediately elaborate on the connection, though the San Antonio Express-News reported that records show the house is owned by a man named Shane James who might be the suspect’s father.
Salazar said authorities found water coming from the home when they arrived and got no answer when they tried to make contact with anyone inside. Deputies forced their way into the home, where they found two people who appeared to be in their 50s dead in a small room.
The sheriff said the two appeared to have been killed elsewhere and moved to the position where they were found. He could not immediately say whether they were shot.
“There are more than enough indicators that this is a double homicide, but we don’t have cause of death at this point,” he said Tuesday night at a news conference.
Authorities believe the killings in Bexar County kicked off Tuesday’s violence, though it was not immediately clear what prompted the attacks or if they were random.
Officials continue to investigate.
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