South/Central Texas Multiple Homicides (6 dead, 9 shot) 12/5/23

[Jkwellborn 6601]

Oh, no no no.  The delicious hard coating makes the Spree.  
And Sweetarts?  Oof.
Product idea:  SpreeTarts

Where do you stand on shocktarts?

[ztejas 42819]

3 minutes ago, Jkwellborn said:

Where do you stand on shocktarts?

Damn I don't think I've had a shock tart in like 15 years.

Do they still make those?

[Jkwellborn 6601]

Damn I don't think I've had a shock tart in like 15 years.
Do they still make those?

I think I saw or bought some in the last year, definitely two years. But I’m in a rural area, so who knows how old they were. I’m gonna go hunting them now.

Quick Google search said they got rebranded as sweetTart shockers.

[Deej 76219]

What about Bottlecaps? Still make those?

[jimmyjazz 45212]

3 minutes ago, Deej said:

What about Bottlecaps? Still make those?

Those were the soda-flavored candies, right?

[Deej 76219]

1 minute ago, jimmyjazz said:

Those were the soda-flavored candies, right?

Yes

[crash_davis 23056]

Have the released the races/ethnicities of the victims? Wondering if there's a racial motive. They showed the house where 2 people were murdered. The holiday lights were one and It looked like Jewish decorations, yellow and blue lights and maybe a Star of David.

[Nicole44 21969]

35 minutes ago, Deej said:

What about Bottlecaps? Still make those?

Yes. There is a candy section in Walgreens and you can get four boxes for $5. I sadly know this because I enjoy them. 

[Nicole44 21969]

3 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

Have the released the races/ethnicities of the victims? Wondering if there's a racial motive. They showed the house where 2 people were murdered. The holiday lights were one and It looked like Jewish decorations, yellow and blue lights and maybe a Star of David.

Well, the first two victims were his parents. We don’t know about the four other homicides. But they were found in pairs. He drove to Austin for some purpose. There is a lot of speculation that the two sets of murders in Austin were not random and were specifically targeted. Or at least the man/woman killed earlier in the day yesterday were perhaps targeted. The cop outside the school? Probably not. The guy on the bike? Victim of opportunity? The other cop? He was shot while returning fire at the scene of the second double homicide. 

[crash_davis 23056]

1 minute ago, Nicole44 said:

Well, the first two victims were his parents. We don’t know about the four other homicides. But they were found in pairs. He drove to Austin for some purpose. There is a lot of speculation that the two sets of murders in Austin were not random and were specifically targeted. Or at least the man/woman killed earlier in the day yesterday were perhaps targeted. The cop outside the school? Probably not. The guy on the bike? Victim of opportunity? The other cop? He was shot while returning fire at the scene of the second double homicide. 

Reagan HS is majority minorities. Odd that he would pass up the South burb high schools for a minority one in North Austin.

[Deej 76219]

So none of the cops were killed?

Just making sure I won't have issues with traffic next week. 

[Nicole44 21969]

12 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

Reagan HS is majority minorities. Odd that he would pass up the South burb high schools for a minority one in North Austin.

It was Northest Early college Highschool or something like that. 
 

Okay, this article has the most information  I have seen so far on the shooter. Also another article from the same publication said that the parents did not want him jailed. A victims advocacy group did not want him jailed due to his mental health issues. He was kicked out of the army for that reason. He tried to get a commercial license but couldn’t due to medical reasons. When the cops showed up to an episode he was having last year he barricaded himself in his room. they chose not to forcefully remove him bc his warrants were just misdemeanors and told parents to call them directly for any future problems and of course they never called again. 
 

https://www.expressnews.com/news/article/shane-james-capital-murder-18537824.php

 

very detailed about the shooter. At least compared to any other article from the little they know.  
 

If he had a racial motivation for coming to Austin I am sure it’s possible.  he was also very mentally disturbed for quite some time and would have been better off institutionalized and being diagnosed and on a regime of drugs to help him. Instead he lived with his parents. And eventually killed them. 

Edited December 7, 2023 by Nicole44

[Not that Bob 733]

We fight about guns and cops but ignore the elephant in the room. The only way to stop this, or at least slow it down, is to incarcerate people who we don't want to incarcerate. We don't want to lock up our sons who we love. We took them to soccer games. Helped them with homework. Taught them to sing The Eyes of Texas. They were the joy of our lives, but at about age 19-23, if they are predisposed, we start to see the signs of mental illness. "Not my beautiful boy!" we tell ourselves. If we can get them into treatment they may improve..."See, I told you he is a good boy", but the treatment, likely medication, causes side effects. He loses the "high" his cycles gave him. He can't get a boner. He stops the medication and probably all treatment. We can't stand the thought of locking him up...for a long time...possibly years...maybe forever.

We Americans, seemingly, would rather see mass shootings than face the thought that some people cannot tolerate the freedom that we hold so dear. We can't stand the thought that we might have to do that to another person. Do we have that right? Do we have the right not to? If  we had forced treatment and restriction of freedom, these people would be alive. Those kids in Uvalde would be alive. But do we have that right? It is an unanswerable question.   

We see the warning signs, again and again, but we can't stand to restrict their freedom, possibly forever. We will have to fundamentally change the ethos of this country if we are going to stop this. I don't think that we can. I don't know that we should. 

[Deej 76219]

Quote

Reagan HS is majority minorities. Odd that he would pass up the South burb high schools for a minority one in North Austin.

He missed his exit. 

Edited December 7, 2023 by Deej

[Stunns38 3275]

looks to me like that linkedin profile from earlier is right.  that's just the psychotic version of the handsome dude in the profile pic.

Or thug? Doesn’t fit the narrative.

[hookemATL 11510]

25 minutes ago, Deej said:

So none of the cops were killed?

Just making sure I won't have issues with traffic next week. 

[Deej 76219]

19 hours ago, Nicole44 said:

Pretty much! Thankfully I should be getting the big bucks from Social Security and AARP sends out free readers to us really old asses.
 

Me (longer hair is me) and my friend tonite. I just had a cup of the shrimp chowder or whatever. That was pretty good. We heard sirens the whole time at the restaurant. 

Half of Surly at Chez Zee next week...

[jimmyjazz 45212]

38 minutes ago, Nicole44 said:

It was Northest Early college Highschool or something like that. 

That's the former Reagan HS.  Used to be a fairly "dicey" (read: black) neighborhood.  More mixed now.  

[Nicole44 21969]

Dude had some clear issues (kicked out of military—something a lot of these people have in common—denied a commercial license for medical reasons—moved in with parents 6 years ago due to issues—family violence etc) so no telling what his motive was for driving to Austin and murdering four people and shooting three more people. If they were all random then perhaps he was racially motivated but again thats above my paygrade at this point. He brutally murdered his parents who had cared for him the last 6 years. No clue. 

[4th&Five 41245]

CBS Austin: Emmanuel Pop Ba, 32, and Sabrina Rahman, 24, were identified as the victims of the deadly double shooting that happened at 11:59 a.m. on Shadywood Drive in South Austin.

[Nicole44 21969]

from the San Antonio Express (neighbors of the James family where the shooter/killer had been living the last 6 or so years):

“Neighbor Richard Powell said they didn’t hear anything suspicious coming from the house ahead of the deaths in the quiet community. Salazar said none of the neighbors heard gunshots.

“This was the first time we ever heard of something like this,” Powell said. “I never thought it would happen.”

His brother, Tyrone Powell, said James Jr. didn’t come out of the house much, so they know little about him. 

“I know he’s a little disturbed,” Tyrone Powell said. “He was in the army, then got kicked out.”

The brothers’ mom, Laverne Powell has been living in her current home since 2001. She said she had been neighbors with the Jameses for 13 years. James Sr. was retired military and a “real good man,” she said.

She added that James Jr. had moved into the house about “five or six years ago.”

The family said they knew James was suffering from some type of mental illness after conversations they had with his dad during the years.”

[royiv 9045]

46 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

That's the former Reagan HS.  Used to be a fairly "dicey" (read: black) neighborhood.  More mixed now.  

I looked at Zillow earlier to see how much houses in Windsor Park are going for these days and most of the listings were in the $600s and up to $800k. I dated a girl who lived in that neighborhood when I was in HS and they definitely weren't fetching that kind of money back then.

[ChickenSandwich 9769]

3 hours ago, Nicole44 said:

from the San Antonio news (so the comment is from a sheriff there below):

https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/public-safety/bexar-county-dead-bodies-found-san-antonio-texas-police/273-c3f0a601-74e9-45d0-b561-1ab8a9db54fa

“Sheriff Salazar says James had a previous criminal history, including a domestic violence charge in January of 2022. Later that month, his bond conditions were changed to allow him to have contact with his family, the victims in that case.  Sheriff Salazar said the bond conditions change was at the request of his family and with the assistance of a victim's advocacy group. He was released on bond and returned home with his family in March of 2022. The sheriff says he cut off his ankle monitor at that point. In August of 2023, James encountered deputies again when they responded to a call for a mental health episode at his parent's address. In that incident, Sheriff Salazar says deputies were not able to take him into custody due to James creating a barrier between himself and the deputies.”

Most likely an attempt to deescalate the situation. The family (his assault victims) worked to get him free to their custody.  The police probably had the blessing of the family (who called in the episode) to leave in order to calm the situation. 

[Nicole44 21969]

54 minutes ago, 4th&Five said:

CBS Austin: Emmanuel Pop Ba, 32, and Sabrina Rahman, 24, were identified as the victims of the deadly double shooting that happened at 11:59 a.m. on Shadywood Drive in South Austin.

From the AAS:

https://www.statesman.com/story/news/local/2023/12/06/austin-shooting-victims-identified-sabrina-rahman-emmanuel-pop-ba-shadywood-drive/71829246007/

Sabrina Rahman, 24, was found with Emmanuel Pop Ba, 32, in the 7300 block of Shadywood Drive at about noon on Tuesday after police received multiple calls about shots being fired. Austin police found both of them with gunshot wounds and said in a press release sent Wednesday that Rahman was taken to the hospital, where she died. Pop Ba was pronounced dead at the scene.

Marshall Hussain, the uncle of Rahman, told the American-Statesman that his niece was 24 years old. She had moved into her family’s new home with her husband and their 12-month-old child only the day before.

“She was so excited. She took the baby for a stroller walk,” Hussain said.

Neighbors say they called the police at 11:59 a.m. after hearing gunshots in the neighborhood. Rahman was walking with her baby in a stroller at the time.

Pop Ba's family said he worked as a handyman and was helping Hussain's family members move into a house on Tuesday.

Pop Ba was getting into his car for lunch when the shooter approached, said Hussain. He said Pop Ba was a close friend who he often employed.

Hussain speculated that Rahman, who was walking with her baby in a stroller, saw the shooter shoot their friend and ran to hide the baby.
 

“She did her last act to push the child away,” he said.

Hussain said a neighbor found the baby and stroller and started walking up the street, trying to figure out who the baby’s parents were. Rahman's parents, who were inside the home, saw the ambulance taking away Rahman's body but did not realize it was her until they saw the stroller and recognized it.
 

——————-

also I really hope the rumors are NOT true about the two remaining victims near Circle C that haven’t been identified as of yet. 

Edited December 7, 2023 by Nicole44

[Nicole44 21969]

1 minute ago, ChickenSandwich said:

Most likely an attempt to deescalate the situation. The family (his assault victims) worked to get him free to their custody.  The police probably had the blessing of the family (who called in the episode) to leave in order to calm the situation. 

His dad was ex-military and probably thought he could handle it. His parents had him fairly young. The shooter is 34 and his parents were basically 20 years older. 

[jimmyjazz 45212]

9 minutes ago, Nicole44 said:

also I really hope the rumors are NOT true about the two remaining victims near Circle C that haven’t been identified as of yet. 

What rumors?

[Nicole44 21969]

10 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

What rumors?

Spoiler

The two victims found inside the house where the shootout occurred were a mother and a young child possibly. 

None of that has been confirmed but on Twitter or whatever one person tweeted like 12 hours ago that the two victims on Shadylane were on the street and that one was a handyman and that information is just being reported tonite and that the woman had witnessed the shooting and tried to run away but was shot also. So perhaps that person may be accurate. 

Edited December 7, 2023 by Nicole44

[Deej 76219]

23 minutes ago, royiv said:

I looked at Zillow earlier to see how much houses in Windsor Park are going for these days and most of the listings were in the $600s and up to $800k. I dated a girl who lived in that neighborhood when I was in HS and they definitely weren't fetching that kind of money back then.

How fetching was the girl you dated?

[Nicole44 21969]

[Tailgate 2981]

I went through the 45/1826 intersection right after it happened. Thought it was just a bad wreck with the number of police and other vehicles. Was flagged through a small lane with other cars and saw the wreck. I happened to stop at the store there, JD’s, when the clerk at the register said it was a shooting and she had heard the shots…cray cray.

[Digdogger 1343]

2 hours ago, crash_davis said:

Have the released the races/ethnicities of the victims? Wondering if there's a racial motive. They showed the house where 2 people were murdered. The holiday lights were one and It looked like Jewish decorations, yellow and blue lights and maybe a Star of David.

Hopefully APD will enlist 23 and Me to get to the bottom of this, we can put a percentage on how racist this guy was

[Brisketexan 103657]

We fight about guns and cops but ignore the elephant in the room. The only way to stop this, or at least slow it down, is to incarcerate people who we don't want to incarcerate. We don't want to lock up our sons who we love. We took them to soccer games. Helped them with homework. Taught them to sing The Eyes of Texas. They were the joy of our lives, but at about age 19-23, if they are predisposed, we start to see the signs of mental illness. "Not my beautiful boy!" we tell ourselves. If we can get them into treatment they may improve..."See, I told you he is a good boy", but the treatment, likely medication, causes side effects. He loses the "high" his cycles gave him. He can't get a boner. He stops the medication and probably all treatment. We can't stand the thought of locking him up...for a long time...possibly years...maybe forever.
We Americans, seemingly, would rather see mass shootings than face the thought that some people cannot tolerate the freedom that we hold so dear. We can't stand the thought that we might have to do that to another person. Do we have that right? Do we have the right not to? If  we had forced treatment and restriction of freedom, these people would be alive. Those kids in Uvalde would be alive. But do we have that right? It is an unanswerable question.   
We see the warning signs, again and again, but we can't stand to restrict their freedom, possibly forever. We will have to fundamentally change the ethos of this country if we are going to stop this. I don't think that we can. I don't know that we should. 

It’s tough.
We could be like every other first world country and make it maybe not as easy for those guys to obtain a gun as it is for them to get a goddamned Happy Meal. That would help. Crazy and unarmed is much better to deal with.

[Nicole44 21969]

One thing I got from the AAS article was that when Pop Ba and Sabrina Rahman were shot on the street (he was working on Sabrina’s home and was getting into his car for a lunch break) and she was walking her 12 month old in a stroller (which she pushed away or tried to hide before she was shot) was that a neighbor came out and saw the bodies and the shooter drive away. Why was this car or description not put out to the public? Also another neighbor had recently installed a RingCamera after months of putting it off and had provided that to police. We get fucking alerts every day but not an at large shooter description with a car?

the shooting happened before noon. No idea what he was doing between noon and about 5:45 when he shot the cyclist, a 39 year old white male. But prior to shooting Rahman and Pa he shot the officer at the high school. Officer called it in. Was ambushed and shot in the leg. Shooter fled. Tons of agencies came to the school and it was safeguarded as it should have been but no description of the shooter out to the public.

I understand why no one connected those three shootings at the time. I understand why no one connected the killings in San Antonio before he was apprehended. Because they went to the house and found his parents’ bodies after our authorities contacted Bexar county law enforcement. 
 

but..from about noon to 5:45 he was doing something. Maybe parked somewhere who knows. But if a description had gone out maybe we don’t have the shooting of the cyclist  or the two people at the home near Circle C? I don’t know. I don’t want to assign more fault to anyone else but it seems odd they wouldn’t put information about an at large shooter who shot and killed two people on the street. Smdh.

[Texas Jeff 1918]

2 hours ago, Nicole44 said:

It was Northest Early college Highschool or something like that. 

Northeast ECHS, which used to be Reagan HS ... as in John H. Reagan who was in Jefferson Davis' cabinet, which is why it was renamed.

The shooting could have been at the high school or Nelson Field, which is across the street, slightly northeast of Northeast.

[Nicole44 21969]

Then, shortly before 7 p.m., officers responded to a burglary at a home where they said James opened fire on a responding officer, striking them multiple times.

The officer’s injuries were not life threatening.

James drove off, and once police made it inside, they found two people dead.

Neighbors said they were a mother and daughter.

——————

[Updawg 2245]

Agreed. Normally if a suspect leaves a scene like a school shooting they release a description. Same with the other. I get why they couldn’t connect the dots but Austin is still small enough that stuff is on the noon news etc

I barely saw anything until I was leaving Bowie high school after a choir concert and it all ended

[Nicole44 21969]

12 minutes ago, Updawg said:

Agreed. Normally if a suspect leaves a scene like a school shooting they release a description. Same with the other. I get why they couldn’t connect the dots but Austin is still small enough that stuff is on the noon news etc

I barely saw anything until I was leaving Bowie high school after a choir concert and it all ended

Yep. I am baffled by the Shadylane shooting. It’s possible the officer at the highschool couldn’t get a good description at all. He said he was ambushed and  he was shot in the leg so maybe he didn’t see where the shots came from?
 But as far as the Shadylane shooting two people that were neighbors could provide descriptions of the car/possibly the shooter. One especially could provide that. And nada. We just heard two people killed on that street and no suspect in custody. Hours went by. Then the cyclist. Like what if he had built some device to go off and put it somewhere. Who knows wtf he was doing that whole time? What if he broke into another house or houses? 
 

Spoiler

It’s looking more and more possible that final two victims were a mother and very young child. Also hearing really scary rumors related to how he killed his parents and why the scene was described as grisly. That it is sick af. Don’t know anything else but everything else this person is tweeting about has been reported much later as true. 

 

Edited December 7, 2023 by Nicole44

[Updawg 2245]

Ugggh. Just read that spoiler. I live very nearby. Scary

[Nicole44 21969]

Just now, Updawg said:

Ugggh. Just read that spoiler. I live very nearby. Scary

Yes. One of the articles said also that the shooter had a sibling and that sibling had also been was a victim of the domestic violence misdemeanor along with the parents of the shooter. Not sure if perhaps the shooter after doing some already unthinkable shit was looking for his sibling? 

[Nicole44 21969]

wtf???????????? This has shades of Uvalde all over it. We need a request to inform the public they could be in danger??????????????? The fuck man. 

 

 

 

Edited December 7, 2023 by Nicole44

[atomheartbevo 89055]

12 hours ago, MissingInAction said:

 he could have killed the cyclist but didn't. 

 

11 hours ago, Your Mom said:

He shot multiple times at the mountain biker.  It occurred on a trail.  He fired multiple rounds and only one of them hit.  Flesh wound.   Rider was able to haul ass and get away while he was still firing.  

[wood 10966]

5 hours ago, InkaUtexas said:

you break down the fucking barricade. Oh wait, it was doughnut time. 

Seriously. So they just said "Welp. Can't get to him. Fuck it. Let's go"?

[wood 10966]

You kids these days ...

[wood 10966]

3 hours ago, Nicole44 said:

Well, the first two victims were his parents. We don’t know about the four other homicides. But they were found in pairs. He drove to Austin for some purpose. There is a lot of speculation that the two sets of murders in Austin were not random and were specifically targeted. Or at least the man/woman killed earlier in the day yesterday were perhaps targeted. The cop outside the school? Probably not. The guy on the bike? Victim of opportunity? The other cop? He was shot while returning fire at the scene of the second double homicide. 

The way he ambushed the AISD cop, I still have a feeling he had something in mind for the school but got spooked and hauled ass.

[atomheartbevo 89055]

3 hours ago, Not that Bob said:

We see the warning signs, again and again, but we can't stand to restrict their freedom, possibly forever. We will have to fundamentally change the ethos of this country if we are going to stop this. I don't think that we can. I don't know that we should. 

We clearly don't want to go back to the days of Uncle Ed being locked up in a mental hospital because somebody caught him wearing a dress and calling himself Edna and reported him, or a Rose Kennedy situation, but there' s clearly a problem.  Almost all of the mass shooters, especially the school shooters, but many/most of the others were known to the mental health system, or were on some kind of drugs that kept them in check, etc., etc. Part of it gets into red flag laws, which are a CR thing, but there's too many of these people who are falling through the cracks or being failed by the system somehow.

We used to lock up a shitload of people in mental hospitals, but In terms of institutionalizing people, while we clearly don't do enough, we can't go back to the old days where a lot of people were locked up, that shouldn't have been.  There's a line that is extremely hard to differentiate where one side ends and the other begins - plenty of people having an episode or off their meds or whatever can be locked up for the night because they are presenting a danger to others, but if they get their shit together in a day or two, they'll be released, regardless of whether they are a danger or not, and there's probably not much of a follow-up, even though everybody knows that those people are still going to be a danger in the future. You don't want to mix those people with the functioning mild-mannered types that need just a little bit of help.  And you don't want a situation where parents institutionalize a kid that's not going to kill/harm anybody, but that they can't care for anymore for whatever reason.

Something has to change but we gotta be careful how we do it.  If you look at a history of mental asylums in this country, there's a reason why so many older horror movies pull their inspiration from mental asylums.

[Nicole44 21969]

Just now, wood said:

The way he ambushed the AISD cop, I still have a feeling he had something in mind for the school but got spooked and hauled ass.

It’s very possible. After that maybe he had no plan. No clue what he did in the hours in between shooting on Shadylane and shooting the bicyclist near the Alamo Theater. And now we know why we didn’t get a true alert of an active shooter and a description. And the explanation is infuriatingly stupid. 

[atomheartbevo 89055]

3 minutes ago, wood said:

The way he ambushed the AISD cop, I still have a feeling he had something in mind for the school but got spooked and hauled ass.

Yeah, I doubt he encountered and shot the AISD cop on the edge of the campus as he was randomly driving by on a city street - if what I saw was right, it was on the actual campus.

Also, the email AISD sent out made it sound like the cop stopped something worse from happening.

[Pescado_Rojo 19262]

9 hours ago, Nicole44 said:

He has wonky fun bags? 

Wonky Fun Bags sounds like the house band at Maggie May’s

[Nicole44 21969]

1 minute ago, atomheartbevo said:

We clearly don't want to go back to the days of Uncle Ed being locked up in a mental hospital because somebody caught him wearing a dress and calling himself Edna and reported him, or a Rose Kennedy situation, but there' s clearly a problem.  Almost all of the mass shooters, especially the school shooters, but many/most of the others were known to the mental health system, or were on some kind of drugs that kept them in check, etc., etc. Part of it gets into red flag laws, which are a CR thing, but there's too many of these people who are falling through the cracks or being failed by the system somehow.

We used to lock up a shitload of people in mental hospitals, but In terms of institutionalizing people, while we clearly don't do enough, we can't go back to the old days where a lot of people were locked up, that shouldn't have been.  There's a line that is extremely hard to differentiate where one side ends and the other begins - plenty of people having an episode or off their meds or whatever can be locked up for the night because they are presenting a danger to others, but if they get their shit together in a day or two, they'll be released, regardless of whether they are a danger or not, and there's probably not much of a follow-up, even though everybody knows that those people are still going to be a danger in the future. You don't want to mix those people with the functioning mild-mannered types that need just a little bit of help.  And you don't want a situation where parents institutionalize a kid that's not going to kill/harm anybody, but that they can't care for anymore for whatever reason.

Something has to change but we gotta be careful how we do it.  If you look at a history of mental asylums in this country, there's a reason why so many older horror movies pull their inspiration from mental asylums.

Thanks for providing that history and the reasons this is more difficult to solve than the gun issue. It’s very complex. Have been wanting to post something similar for a long time just couldn’t put it together as succinctly as you did. 
it’s depressing. And it’s not as simple as just more healthcare and access and resources and education—-though we don’t do enough in any of those areas. Simply put we probably all know families dealing with someone with mental health struggles. And how damned difficult it is to deal with and to solve. But we have to get help for those in the midst of a psychotic episode and at least try to diagnose them so they can be put on a regimen of meds and therapy. The trickery part is when they stop taking their meds. It’s just depressing.ugggh

[wood 10966]

39 minutes ago, Updawg said:

Ugggh. Just read that spoiler. I live very nearby. Scary

Same. So awful.