AUSTIN — At least three people were injured after multiple shootings in Downtown Austin over the weekend.
One person was reportedly shot on East Sixth Street and San Jacinto on Saturday at 2:11 a.m. The alleged shooter is 22-year-old Dominic Anthony Lopez.
According to an arrest affidavit, Austin police officers responded to a call of shots being fired. When they arrived at the scene, they found a person who was shot. That person was sent to the hospital.
Lopez reportedly tried to run away when he was approached, but the documents state officers tackled him and located the handgun he allegedly used.
The incident was caught on security cameras. According to police, Lopez got into a verbal altercation which was about to turn into a physical fight. Police said Lopez then pulled out his gun and fired. A crowd of people witnessed the situation and some recorded it on their phones. Once Lopez reportedly shot the victim, the victim and members of the crowd backed away. Police say Lopez shot in their direction.
Lopez and four other witnesses were reportedly taken to Austin Police Headquarters for questioning. All four witnesses said that Lopez was the one who shot the victim and one witness even provided cell phone video of the shooting.
Lopez admitted to police that he was involved in the altercation but denied being the shooter. He allegedly told police that someone else was the shooter.
Lopez, who police said is a convicted felon and documented "Crips" gang member, was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, unlawful possession of a firearm and deadly conduct/discharge of a firearm.
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On Oct. 25, Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said the victim who was shot was not involved in the altercation and was injured because they were in the crowd.
Also on Saturday around 2:15 a.m., several shots were heard in the vicinity of Seventh and Trinity streets. A victim told police he was walking toward his vehicle in the St. David's parking garage when he was confronted by five males who began yelling and assaulting him. Police reported that he began to run away, heard two gunshots and experienced pain in his back. Reports state he was taken to the hospital and was treated for a gunshot wound to the lower back.
In this case, the victim described the shooter as a Hispanic male, approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall, wearing a grey shirt. However, a witness described the shooter as a Hispanic male, approximately 35 years old, 6 feet 1 inch tall wearing a leather jacket and blue jeans. Police said several subjects were detained in the area but they were unable to locate the suspect.
The following day, a man was reportedly injured in a shooting on Seventh and Trinity streets, according to Austin-Travis County EMS.
Medics said the shooting happened just before 2:30 a.m. The man was seriously injured in the reported shooting, but he's expected to be OK, according to ATCEMS. He was taken to a trauma center for treatment.
Police said they were flagged down for a shooting at 400 E. Seventh Street where the victim was found with a bullet wound to his thumb and thigh. His friends stated that they were walking when a group of Hispanic males and females began to "verbally accost" them. One of the males from the group then allegedly shot at the victim's group four times. He was described as a Hispanic male with a neck tattoo, 20 to 25 years old, wearing a gold grill and a sports jersey with black pants.
"These George Sector Officers are doing a great job working under very dangerous circumstances," said Ken Casaday with the Austin Police Association. "I was amazed as I worked alongside these officers last night. They were on extremely high alert from the minute they walked through the door for briefing because they had worked two shootings the night before. Even though they were stressed to the max, they still provided excellent service to everyone in Downtown and Central East Austin. I couldn’t be prouder of these hard working, dedicated officers.”
Casaday said there were also reports of another shooting incident in the same area Sunday morning, but when officials arrived they only found shell casings and no victims or suspects.
Additionally, he said there were two shootings in areas outside of Downtown Austin. There was one victim in each of those non-fatal incidents.
According to Casaday, there were five shootings city-wide this weekend and a total of six, including Travis County. Shootings in and around the Austin area are becoming a growing concern for police.
He said they've seen an increase in shootings downtown over the past month.
“We’ve had a couple officer-involved shootings down there this year," said Casaday. "We’ve had other shootings where strangers were involved, so it’s something I know the department is starting to pay really close attention to.”
In one of the shootings this weekend, Casaday said an officer was able to apply a tourniquet to a young man who was injured that likely saved his life.
For those planning to hang out on Sixth Street, Casaday advises not to travel alone and to be careful, especially in nearby garages where it’s dark.
In the press conference on Oct. 25, Manley announced a new initiative to handle this recent spike in crime. He said eight shootings have been reported in the month of October alone, compared to two last year. He said shootings were down for the year in Austin until these incidents.
The cases are not believed to be linked.