AUSTIN, Texas — The first homicide of the year occurred in the early hours on Thursday morning in North Austin.
At 1:18 a.m. on Jan. 5, the Austin Police Department (APD) received a call to the 8600 block of North Lamar Boulevard, at The Palms on Lamar apartment complex. The caller stated that they had heard a crash within the complex.
Shortly after the call came in, firefighters with the Austin Fire Department arrived on the scene first, due to the nature of the incident. Once APD officers arrived on scene, they found that a vehicle had crashed into multiple other vehicles in the complex.
Officers and medics from Austin-Travis County EMS discovered a man inside the crashed vehicle and began performing life-saving measures on him. The man died 30 minutes later, according to APD Public Information Officer Dimitri Hobbs.
APD later said that the man, identified as 20-year-old Fritzgerald Bissereth, had been shot and was unresponsive when he was discovered in the car.
Detectives canvassed the area and took statements from two possible witnesses. At first, APD said that although the incident appeared to be a car crash, it was being labeled a homicide. Multiple bullet casings were found on the ground near the crash.
When asked if APD found bullet casings on the ground near the scene, Hobbs replied: "Yes and no, [but] we don't think it has anything to do with it."
Later, police confirmed that the victim had been shot. Detectives believe he was shot by an unknown suspect who immediately left the area.
Anyone with any information about this incident should call APD at 512-974-TIPS. You may also submit your tip anonymously through Capital Area Crime Stoppers by visiting austincrimestoppers.org or calling 512-472-8477. A reward of up to $1,000 may be available for any information that leads to an arrest.
This case is being investigated as Austin's first homicide of 2023.