Violent 24 hours in Austin: 2 dead, 3 injured as police look for multiple suspects
AUSTIN, Texas - It has been a violent 24-hour period in Austin. Two people are dead, and three others are hospitalized in a string of violence that has left police looking for multiple suspects.
Police are investigating four shootings and another homicide and currently, police have not indicated that any of the incidents are connected in any way.
Man killed with baseball bat in North Austin
It began on August 10 at around 1 p.m. when officers responded to a call regarding a man found bleeding at the E Z Stop convenience store located in the 1200 block of Kramer Lane.
When officers arrived, they found a man, Josue Salazar, lying on the ground unresponsive. He was later pronounced dead at the scene.
The preliminary investigation revealed that Jose Alberto Lopez-Mederos, 18, arrived in a vehicle, walked up to Salazar, and hit him repeatedly with a baseball bat, which caused his death.
An arrest warrant was issued for First-Degree Murder for Lopez-Mederos. Members of the Lonestar Fugitive Task Force/Marshal's Office arrested Lopez-Mederos for the murder warrant.
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South Austin shooting leaves man 1 dead
Eight hours later, at around 9 p.m. on August 10, a man was killed in a shooting on East Oltorf near Douglas Street.
Witnesses called police and reported a shooting and said that a man was bleeding in a nearby parking lot.
Officers arrived and performed CPR until Austin-Travis County EMS arrived on the scene.
The victim was taken to the hospital, but officials say he died from his injuries.
3 separate shootings in Austin within hours of each other
Then in the early morning of August 11 there were three non-fatal shootings that occurred within hours of each other.
The first shooting happened at around 3 a.m. in downtown Austin. One woman was injured. The shooting happened on East 7th and Neches Streets.
Officials say the suspect who shot the woman was among a group of people who ran away.
In the second shooting that happened at around 4:30 a.m. at a gas station right off I-35 near 38th Street, a man was injured.
And the third shooting happened in North Austin at around 5:30 a.m. on West Powell Lane near Georgian Drive. Police say a man was shot and taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Police did not release any information about suspects in any of the shootings.
The Austin Police Association tweeted about the shootings and criticized current staffing levels.