The suspect charged with capital murder following a day-long rampage across two Texas cities that left six people dead has been seen in a bloody police mugshot.
Shane James, 34, was booked in Travis County Jail in the early hours of Wednesday on four counts of capital murder as well as three other out-of-jurisdiction crimes that are not specified.
James is suspected of also shooting two police officers, including one who was shot in the leg outside a high school in Austin.
He was seen on Wednesday afternoon in a new booking mugshot – with a red scratch on his left cheek and a splatter of blood in on his forehead and hairline.
This booking photo provided by the Austin, Texas, Police Department shows Shane James. On Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, Texas authorities charged James with capital murder following a wave of daylong violence across two major cities that left six people dead
News 4 San Antonio reported that James was bonded out by Texas Organizing Project early last year on three assault charges. The project is a police reform group that helped the Bexar Co. DA and Sheriff get elected.
The first reported incident occurred just before 11 a.m. on Tuesday at a high school in the Texas capital, where James allegedly shot an Austin Independent School District police officer.
Shortly after that, authorities believe he shot and killed a man and woman at a home in the southern part of the city. At 5pm, a male cyclist was shot, also in the southern part of the city.
That shooting was also linked to James. The victim suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Two hours later, a second Austin police officer was wounded by the suspect when someone called 911 to report a burglary in a home in the southwestern part of the city.
This prompted a high-speed chase which resulted in James being arrested. When officers returned to that home, they found two more people dead inside.
By Tuesday night, officials announced that the same suspect was involved in the ‘grisly’ murder of a couple in their 50s whose bodies were found stuffed in a small bedroom in San Antonio, some 80 miles from Austin.
The gunman came to the attention of officers when he shot a school resource officer in the leg close to the football field of Northeast Early College High School just before noon. This prompted a school lockdown which lasted for four hours.
Less than an hour later, the gunman went to a home in South Austin and shot a handyman who was sitting in a car. The suspect shot through the window.
After the gunfire broke out, a woman came outside who was then chased by the gunman down the street. He caught her, and killed her, Fox Austin report.
A man has been arrested in connection with a series of shootings that have killed at least four people, injured two police officers and may have extended across multiple cities
The suspect returned to the handyman’s car, threw his body to the pavement, and stole the vehicle.
Timeline of events
- 10:40 a.m. Austin officer is shot near Northeast Early College High School
- 11:59 a.m. Two people are shot and killed at a home on Shadywood Drive
- 4:57 p.m. A cyclist is shot on W. Slaughter Lane, he is left with non-life-threatening injuries
- 6:54 p.m. An officer responds to active burglary on Austral Loop, and the suspect fires at him
- 7:14 p.m. A police chase ends with suspect crashing his car and he is arrested
- 7.45 p.m Police find the bodies of the first two victims in a house in Bexar County
The next incident occurred around 5pm when a cyclist was shot and wounded. He was rushed to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Officers caught up with the gunman after receiving reports of a burglary at the Austral Loop in the southwest part of Austin just before 7pm.
The gunman shot and injured a second Austin police officer before fleeing. The officer’s injuries are not considered life-threatening.
A 12-year-veteran office shot at the suspect but didn’t hit him. She has been placed on administrative leave, as per protocol.
The suspect fled the scene and left police on a high-speed chase.
The chase ended after around 15 minutes with the suspect crashing his car at the intersection of State Highway 45 and FM 1826.
He was armed when police arrested him. Investigators discovered that the suspect had a warrant out for causing injury to a family member.
When police returned to the home where the burglary had been reported, they found the bodies of two more people.
In San Antonio, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said that the couple who were found dead were ‘well-known’ in the community and said their home was ‘very-well maintained.’
The suspect was named and arrested on Wednesday morning
The carnage began just before 11 a.m. at Northeast Early College High School, where the suspect allegedly shot one of the officers for the Austin Independent School District
Minutes later, he was in South Austin, where he’s accused of shooting and killing two people on Shadywood Drive
Neighbors claimed that the people who lived there had only move in days earlier, saying that the man of the house had brought over cookies and apologized for any disruptions their construction had caused
Salazar, who described the murders as ‘grisly,’ says officials think the pair were killed before the shootings in Austin.
‘No one deserves to die the way they did,’ the sheriff said.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a statement on the shooting.
‘Our hearts are with the family and loved ones of the Austin ISD police officer who was shot near Northeast Early College High School today,’ Abbott said.
‘Our ISD police officers play a critical role on keeping Texas students and school faculty safe.
‘The State of Texas is offering all available resources to local law enforcement partners who are working to ensure this dangerous criminal is caught and brought to justice.’
The Austin deaths were the 67th and 68th homicides in the city in 2023, according to police.
Later that day, at around 7 p.m. local time, police received reports of a burglary at the Austral Loop in the southwest part of the city
The chase eventually ended in a crash near an intersection
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