Austin police arrested three juveniles Sunday after a spree of at least a dozen shootings across the city that injured four people, struck two fire stations and prompted a temporary shelter-in-place order in South Austin. Police Chief Lisa Davis, Mayor Kirk Watson, and Austin-Travis County EMS Chief Robert Luckritz were among officials handling the fast-moving investigation, while the Manor Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety helped track and detain the suspects. The arrests included youths ages 15, 16 and 17 and came after a chaotic series of vehicle thefts, random shootings and at least one injured pedestrian described by investigators.
Chief Lisa Davis told reporters, “We have two suspects in custody.” Her words came as officers pieced together multiple scenes and traced a string of crimes that began late Saturday and continued into Sunday morning. The two initially held were a 15-year-old and a 17-year-old, and the Manor Police Department later confirmed a third 16-year-old suspect was located and taken into custody. Officials emphasized there is no ongoing threat to the public as arrests proceeded.
Investigators say the incidents involved stolen firearms and a series of stolen cars used during the spree. Authorities described several different vehicles as part of the pattern, naming a dark Hyundai, a gold Hyundai sedan, a silver Mazda and a white Kia Optima as ones that cycled through the incidents. Davis noted the 17-year-old had an outstanding warrant tied to the theft of a gun from the same store where the younger suspect allegedly took another weapon. “What we are seeing are these cars are being stolen,” she added, urging residents to avoid leaving keys or key fobs inside vehicles.
Shootings happened in multiple neighborhoods, with many clustered in South Austin, according to police statements. “At this time, most of the shootings have occurred in South Austin,” Davis said, and officers responded to at least four separate scenes to treat victims. One person suffered critical injuries but was later reported in stable condition, while three others sustained non-life-threatening wounds. Austin-Travis County EMS Chief Robert Luckritz confirmed his crews treated patients at multiple locations across the city.
The violence extended to emergency infrastructure, with two fire stations struck by gunfire and a fire truck hit while firefighters were nearby. Davis said one fire station was shot at twice during the series of incidents, raising alarm about the risk faced by first responders. Police conducted door-to-door checks in affected areas to ensure residents had not been injured and to gather more information from witnesses. Officials called the investigation complex because the crimes were spread across several scenes and involved multiple stolen vehicles.
During the height of the manhunt, law enforcement warned residents in a bounded section of South Austin to shelter in place while officers searched for the suspects. That order covered an area roughly framed by South Slaughter Lane, East McKinney Falls Parkway, North Ben White Boulevard and West Escarpment Boulevard. Once two suspects were detained, the shelter-in-place advisory was lifted, though officers continued searching for the third person who had fled a traffic stop in the Manor area. Manor Police Department officials worked closely with Austin officers to locate and transfer the detained juvenile to Austin custody.
Surveillance footage and witness reports played a role as detectives linked shootings to vehicles and movement patterns, with at least one attack appearing to involve shooters firing from a passing car. Davis said video seemed to show a shooting in front of a store where two people were struck after suspects fired from a vehicle. Police also reported a separate incident in which a man walking his dog was shot in the back early Sunday morning. The randomness of the targets made establishing a motive difficult at this stage of the probe.
Local leaders praised the quick coordination among agencies that converged on the case, including the Travis County Sheriff’s Office and the Texas Department of Public Safety working alongside Austin and Manor officers. Mayor Kirk Watson called the response a coordinated effort and emphasized how rapidly the situation evolved. “This was a rapidly evolving event involving multiple incidents in multiple locations,” Watson said, noting the challenge of connecting scattered reports into a single investigation. Officials suggested technology such as license plate readers might have helped link the stolen vehicles more quickly.
Authorities stressed the seriousness of juveniles having access to firearms during these incidents, with Chief Davis warning about the consequences. “We need to take seriously the fact that we’ve got two juveniles, 15 and 17, running around with guns creating this havoc,” Davis said as investigators continued to gather evidence and interview witnesses. The investigation remains active, and police asked anyone with information or relevant video to come forward to assist in building cases against the suspects. Community leaders and law enforcement said they would evaluate tactics to prevent similar waves of crime in the future while supporting victims and first responders.
