Austin police have charged an 18-year-old former Austin High School student, accused of shooting a cyclist in the back with a pellet gun, with assault with injury.
APD Detective Kevin Convington says that on May 1, 2009, 18-year old Hollan Dyer was in the front passenger seat of a car with two other teenagers in the 7200 block of Southwest Parkway. The two teenagers in the car with Dyer told Austin police detectives that Dyer said, "I hate cyclists on the road," before he allegedly rolled down his window, firing a shot from a pellet gun at a cyclist.
The shot landed in the lower back of a cyclist. The cyclist is afraid to use his full name, and KVUE has agreed to identify him as "Brad." Brad says the pellet punctured his skin, landing close to his spine.
"I realized I was in trouble basically because of the pain I felt, the fear I felt and trying to keep control of my bike so I didn't crash it and land on the highway and get run over by another car," said Brad.
Detective Convington told KVUE that he's not sure if Dyer is in Baton Rouge, Louisiana with relatives or with his mother in Austin. Convington also told KVUE that calls to Dyer's family have not been returned.
Assault with injury is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by either a $4,000 fine and or up to a year in jail.
