AUSTIN, Texas — Austin Police Department on Monday released additional details about a series of 12 shootings across South and East Austin over the weekend that left four people injured and led to the arrest of three suspects.
Police identified one suspect as 17-year-old Cristian Fajardo Mondragon and said the shootings included both random and targeted attacks.
“Some victims were known to the suspects, while other incidents appeared to occur without any known connection,” APD said in a statement.
Investigators said the incidents began Saturday at about 11:30 a.m. when a firearm was reported stolen from Central Texas Gun Works. Police said a Hyundai Sonata seen in surveillance footage had earlier been reported stolen from the Social Apartments near Oltorf Drive.
At 3:58 p.m. Saturday, police said suspects fired shots at a trailer park in Southeast Austin near U.S. Highway 183. No injuries were reported.
About 30 minutes later, suspects allegedly fired at several vehicles and an occupied apartment at Whisper Hollow Apartments. Investigators recovered shell casings at the scene and said surveillance footage showed a dark-colored sedan.
At 6:08 p.m., suspects allegedly fired into the door of a third-floor apartment near Montopolis Drive before leaving in a dark sedan. Police said detectives linked the first three shootings during the investigation.
Minutes later, at 6:19 p.m., gunfire struck a home and vehicle on Cypress Bend in Southeast Austin while the homeowner was away. Surveillance video captured a dark sedan leaving the area, police said.
At 7 p.m., officers received a report that a Hyundai Elantra had been stolen from a Motel 6 near Interstate 35.
At 8:30 p.m., suspects allegedly fired shots from a vehicle near a business in East Austin. Police reported no injuries or property damage.
At 8:49 p.m., shots struck a fire station near Colony Park while firefighters were inside the building. Vehicles and equipment were damaged, but no injuries were reported.
Six minutes later, one person suffered minor injuries from shattered glass after gunfire struck a parked vehicle near Lyndon B. Johnson Early College High School.
Police said the incidents continued Sunday morning.
Just before 4 a.m., another vehicle was reported stolen in Southeast Austin. At 7:45 a.m., officers recovered a vehicle investigators believed was connected to the shootings.
At 8:46 a.m., a man suffered gunshot wounds to the back and stomach near McKinney Falls Parkway and William Cannon Drive. Witnesses said the suspects were inside a dark sedan.
Minutes later, police located one of the stolen Hyundai vehicles near South First Street and Ben White Boulevard, but the driver fled before officers could initiate a traffic stop.
At about 11 a.m., suspects allegedly fired shots into another fire station near Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in East Austin. No injuries were reported.
Police said suspects later stole a white Kia Optima shortly before 1:30 p.m.
At 1:44 p.m., two people were shot during a drive-by shooting on Burton Drive near East Oltorf Street. Witnesses reported seeing suspects in a white sedan.
Police then received reports of additional shootings at 1:53 p.m. and 2:02 p.m. involving a white sedan near Burleson Road.
At 2:29 p.m., a victim was shot on Dionda Lane in Del Valle and taken to a trauma center with life-threatening injuries. Investigators said surveillance footage showed a white Kia leaving the scene.
At 3:23 p.m., officers from Manor Police Department and the Travis County Sheriff’s Office located the stolen Kia after receiving assistance requests from APD.
Police said the suspects fled after driving into a field near Farm-to-Market Road 973. Officers arrested one suspect near the vehicle, while K-9 units and helicopters searched for another suspect who ran into nearby brush. A third suspect was later detained after reports of a suspicious person in the area.
APD said prosecutors are reviewing possible charges, including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, theft of a firearm and aggravated assault with a motor vehicle.
Police said the investigation remains ongoing but added that there is no continuing threat to the public.
