The man suspected of being the Texas mass shooter arrested in a deadly spree that stretched from San Antonio to Austin began his day-long rampage by killing his parents — whom a court had once ordered him to sever contact with, police said.
Shane James, 34, was charged early Wednesday with two counts of capital murder after allegedly spending a day terrorizing multiple communities that ended with James crashing his car later that evening during a police chase.
James has a history of mental health problems but has a streak of violent outbursts.
He had previously been arrested on charges of assaulting a family member and was discharged from the military for a domestic violence incident, authorities said.
His parents, Phyllis James, 55, and Shane James Sr., 56, were found dead in their San Antonio-area home after James had already been arrested for the shooting, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said at a news conference.
Officers arrived at the home to find water running from the front door and the bodies of the couple inside, who officers believe were killed overnight Monday or early Tuesday morning.
“We know that it was at least a couple of shots from a large-caliber handgun,” Salazar said, adding that they hit “the upper body.”
Shane James is accused of killing six people and wounding three others in a shooting spree that stretched from San Antonio to Austin. Austin Police Department
James allegedly stole his father’s truck after killing his parents and fled more than 80 miles to Austin, where he continued his bloody rampage — this time shooting indiscriminately.
The gunman shot an officer of the city’s Independent School District Police Department in the leg around 10:45am before arriving at a nearby house to kill a man and a woman, Emmanuel Pop Ba, 32, and Sabrina Rahman, 24.
A witness said James shot Ba, a handyman, as he was sitting in his truck outside the house and then chased Rahman down the street, where he shot him.
The third shooting occurred in South Austin at approximately 4:43 p.m. when a bicyclist reported being shot and suffering non-life threatening injuries.
James’ parents are Phyllis James and Shane James Sr. was found dead in their home in the San Antonio area after James had already been arrested for his involvement in the shooting. Facebook/Bexar County Sheriff’s Office
Police finally caught up with James just before 7pm when they found him in the backyard of a home that had been reported robbed along with the bodies of two people he allegedly killed.
He is then accused of shooting at responding police, hitting two of them, before fleeing and sparking a brief police chase.
It’s unclear what, if any, connection James has to the victims in the Austin area.
He was booked on an outstanding warrant for Assault with family injury in addition to two counts of murder. Additional charges are expected.
James was arrested after crashing his car during a police chase. Jay Janner / USA TODAY NETWORK
James was arrested in January 2022 on misdemeanor charges against his parents and siblings, with his bond condition that he “have no contact with the victim,” according to Salazar.
Two weeks later, the family told the victim’s advocate liaison that he had mental health issues and asked for the conditions to be changed, adding that he was not in jail.
James cut off his ankle monitor the day after he was released, prompting a misdemeanor probation violation warrant, Salazar said. Cutting ankle monitors has been upgraded to a felony.
Police were called to his parents’ home in August when James was reportedly naked in the yard and behaving strangely. They entered the home but did not arrest James because he had locked himself in the bedroom, Salazar said.
Deputies were unable to force their way into the room because of misdemeanor warrant limits and eventually left the home, telling James’ father to call them when his son showed up so they could arrest him, the sheriff said.
His father ignored the request and the police made no further attempts to effect the arrest.
“It’s always possible that we could do more, if they could put their hands safely,” Salazar said. “They made every effort to avoid a violent confrontation with an unarmed man. It’s a no-win situation for them.”
At the time of many of the incidents, officials did not know that James had been discharged from the military because of “some sort of domestic incident,” the details of which remain unclear, Salazar said.
James was arrested in January 2022 on charges of misdemeanor assault on his parents and siblings. Facebook/Bexar County Sheriff’s Office
James is a former US Army infantry officer who served from February 2013 to August 2015, according to Lt. Col. Ruth Castro, Army spokeswoman. He had no deployment and his last rank was first lieutenant.
In a statement, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the state government will “impose the full weight of the law on this criminal for his heinous crimes.”
“Texans are grieving for the loved ones of six Texans killed by hardened criminals who may never see the light of day again,” Abbott said.
By Postal Wire
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
