Shots rang out in a quiet North Austin neighborhood this Thursday as two men fired at each other, leaving one dead and the other injured.
In a separate incident at a South Austin apartment complex, a man was shot dead during a personal dispute. The killings bring the number of Austin homicides this year to 25.
The North Austin shooting took place in the 9700 block of Point Vista Place. That’s in a neighborhood of single-family homes called Windsor Hills, located off East Rundberg Lane.
At about 2:00 p.m., police responded to reports of shots fired at an intersection in that neighborhood. Callers said that there was a man with gunshot wounds in the driver’s seat of a vehicle. Other callers reported that a second man, bleeding from gunshot wounds, ran into a nearby residence.
Upon arrival, officers located both gunshot victims, according to an APD news release. Medical responders attempted life-saving measures on the man in the vehicle, but he died on the scene in under an hour. The other man was transported to an area hospital where he is listed in stable condition.
Homicide detectives were able to interview witnesses, after which APD concluded, “the homicide appears to be isolated to the two individuals involved and does not present an ongoing threat to the public.”
The deceased was identified as Dettrick Dwayne Arnold Harris, age 20.
Killing at Apartment Complex
In the second incident, July 13, police received 911 calls about shots fired at the High Point Village apartments on Wickersham Lane in the East Riverside/Oltorf neighborhood.
When officers arrived they found a man on the ground who was still breathing, but had obvious trauma to his body. Austin-Travis County EMS arrived and took him to Dell Seton Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead soon after arrival.
According to an Austin Police news release, homicide detectives identified “multiple subjects” in connection with the homicide.
“Based on information gathered thus far, the homicide appears to be related to a dispute concerning the victim’s vehicle, which had been stolen three days earlier,” the police department stated.
Police identified the victim as 38-year-old James Anthony Walker.
Workman Shot During Robbery
A third shooting took place during a robbery on Monday, July 13, though it was not fatal. Three male suspects, two of whom appeared to be teenagers, approached a man in the 2500 block of Sweeney Lane, in East Austin’s Windsor Park neighborhood.
The three suspects “approached the victim who was working on a home under construction, and shot him before stealing cash from his pants pocket.” They then fled the area on foot. There were two other men at the work site who alerted police and provided aid to the victim.
The gunshot victim was taken by EMS personnel to a local hospital, but his injuries were not life-threatening. He was treated and released. Austin Police described the suspects as follows:
Suspect #1:
- Black male
- Estimated to be between 5’7” and 5’8”
- Average build
- Approximately 18 to 20 years old
- Last seen wearing a white t-shirt and dark pants
Suspect #2
- Black male
- Estimated to be 5’6”
- Approximately 16 years old
Suspect #3:
- Black male
- Approximately 14 years old
They asked anyone with information about this incident to call the APD Robbery tip line at (512) 974-5092.
