After three suspects were taken into custody after 12 shootings were carried out in Austin, Texas this week, photos surfacing on social media appeared to show one of them wearing a Pablo Escobar T-shirt. This has triggered theories about the shooters’ motive.
“The Austin, Texas shooter was wearing a Pablo Escobar shirt,” journalist Sarah Fields wrote on X. “But the shootings are supposedly “random,” and authorities still are not releasing the suspect’s names.”
“One of the suspects in the mass murder spree in Austin, TX this weekend wearing a Pablo Escobar cartel t-shirt. Anchor Baby, Illegal, or Asylum Fraudster? Diversity brings more death and destruction to America,” wrote another user.
Escobar was a Colombian drug lord, narcoterrorist, and politician who founded the Medellín Cartel. He was shot dead in 1993 in Medellín, Colombia, during a rooftop shootout with Colombian authorities.
HT.com has not independently verified photos or if the shooter was wearing a Pablo Escobar T-shirt.
Austin shooting spree motive
Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis has said that no clear motive for the shootings has been determined, per KATV.
“I don’t know what motive would drive anybody to come and drive around senselessly in this city and shoot,” she said.
Read More | Rochester shooting: 3 police officers shot, suspect killed in New York shootout – what to know
Davis identified two suspects as a 15-year-old and a 17-year-old, KATV reported. The older teen had an existing warrant for the theft of a firearm from the same store where the 15-year-old had stolen a gun from Saturday, May 16. David confirmed that both the firearms used in the shooting were stolen.
A third suspect fled from the vehicle when Manor police and Travis County Sheriff’s Office deputies stopped the car. The suspect was later arrested by Manor police hours later.
Read More | Stockton shooting: Patrice Williams, mom who was hosting party, recalls horror, ‘Everybody just dove to the ground’
All three suspects had fled on foot. Helicopters and drones were deployed to spot the third suspect, as the search area is large, spanning multiple neighborhoods. A shelter-in-place was initially announced but later lifted.
Across 12 different incidents, shots were fired at fire stations and into multiple apartment buildings. This prompted police to go door to door to check on residents. Four people were injured in the shootings.
