Austin Crime: 4 Shot in 35-Hour Period, One Victim Dies

Two men were shot at a North Austin apartment Thursday afternoon, resulting in the death of one of them in hospital many hours later.

Then on Friday night, police responded to at least two more shootings overnight, one of which resulted in a serious injury. 

The Austin Police Department identified the victim of the Thursday shooting as Donato Christian Ward, a 20-year-old Black man.

At around 4:35 p.m. on October 1, he was found inside his vehicle at the Limestone Canyon Apartments near Walnut Creek Park, suffering from gunshot wounds. 

Ward had crashed his vehicle into a garage, and his cousin was found near the vehicle, also suffering from gunshot wounds.

EMS took both men to Dell Seton Medical Center, where Ward was pronounced deceased the next morning, October 2. His cousin remains in stable condition, according to a police notice. 

In a video briefing with journalists, Cpl. William Costello with the Police Department’s Public Informaton Office said both men were believed to have been inside the car when it crashed. 

Homicide detectives interviewed witnesses who reported a sedan-style vehicle speeding away from the scene after the shooting.

The killing was Austin’s 37th homicide of the year, compared to 28 that had occurred by this time last year, reflecting a 32% uptick in murders.

Friday night, Austin Police responded to a call about 40 minutes after midnight at 2101 East Ben White Boulevard.

They found a man near a bus stop who had sustained a gunshot wound to the leg. He was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries.

APD said that officers detained a possible suspect for questioning.

Later that night, shortly before 3:00 a.m., officers responded to another reported shooting in the East 6th Street area, near I-35. 

Despite reports of some 15 shots being fired during an altercation between men in the area, nobody was hurt or injured.  

Officers detained three suspects after swabbing them for gunshot residue to determine who fired the shots.