An arrest warrant has been issued for De’ondre Jermirris White in the mass shooting on East Sixth Street earlier this month, interim Austin Police Chief Joseph Chacon said Tuesday.
Travis County District Attorney José Garza said the 19-year-old will be charged with murder.
Chacon said video evidence, eyewitness accounts and ballistic evidence link White to the killing of 25-year-old Douglas Kantor. At least a dozen others were injured in the June 12 shooting.
“We know that White was the person who fired his handgun, striking Mr. Kantor and multiple other victims,” Chacon said at news conference.
White is considered a fugitive. Police are seeking the public’s help in tracking him down. Chacon said White is considered armed and dangerous.
Chacon said charges against Jeremiah Tabb, 17, and a 15-year-old were being dropped. Tabb had been charged with aggravated assault. The 15-year-old had been charged with deadly conduct. Police did not release additional information about him because he is a juvenile.
Chacon said the shooting was the result of a disagreement between two groups of people from Killeen, including Tabb and the 15-year-old. They encountered each other near the intersection of East Sixth Street and Trinity, he said, and Tabb and the juvenile both pulled out guns. White also pulled out a gun, he said.
Multiple witnesses said they saw White in possession of the murder weapon, Chacon said. He said the weapon has been linked to other violent crimes.
Chacon said it was unclear whether either of the teenagers fired a gun. He said APD and the District Attorney’s office decided it was best to release them and focus the investigation and prosecution on White.
“I’m holding the murderer accountable,” Garza said.
The investigation is ongoing, he said, and the teenagers could be charged at a later date if the "evidence bears it out."
Police responded to multiple calls about the shooting around 1:30 a.m. Chacon said “thousands” of people were on Sixth Street that night, so it was hard for officers to pick out the shooter immediately, but they "quickly identified the right people in this case."
Police found several people who had been shot and began performing life-saving measures. The officers took six victims to the hospital in their police cars, Austin-Travis County EMS medics transported four and three other victims were taken in personal vehicles, police said.
Police ask that anyone with additional information contact police at 512-974-TIPS or by sending an email to homicide.apd@austintexas.gov. People can also send tips through the Crime Stoppers or Austin police mobile apps.
KUT's Claire McInerny contributed to this report.
This story is developing. Check back for updates.
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