Unsolved North Austin murder: APD seeks help in suspect search
AUSTIN, Texas - APD is still looking for the people responsible for the murder of an Austin man on Jan. 8.
Avalon Palms Apartments, where the murder took place, is located along SH 183 between Lamar and Burnet Road. There have been several violent crimes in that neighborhood in recent months.
Wednesday afternoon, APD held a briefing on the case. Investigators requested help with the case as family members of 21-year-old Francisco Miranda held up his picture.
"He resided there with his family for several years. They've been productive members of the community. Francisco himself liked playing soccer there a lot," said APD Detective Nicholas Gebhart.
On the evening of Jan. 8, police and paramedics arrived at the complex and found Miranda severely wounded. He would later die at the hospital.
Investigators determined several people who were involved in the fatal shooting fled the scene. So far, no arrests have been made.
Detective Gebhart didn’t indicate if he has a possible motive, other than to say they believe the murder of Miranda was a random act of violence.
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"Francisco was a good kid. After, digging into his life. I can't find anything nefarious that would have brought this on this individual," Detective Gebhart said.
At the time of the Jan. 8 incident, the shooting death of Miranda was classified as the fourth murder of 2024. As of Feb. 21, there have been 7 murders in Austin this year.