AUSTIN, Texas — The Austin Police Department (APD) has arrested a man in connection with a homicide in northeast Austin on Sunday, July 16.
APD said the incident happened near the area of East 52nd Street and Cameron Road. At around 8:30 p.m. on July 16, officers were called to the scene after reports that a man was shot near an abandoned building.
Police and medics conducted life-saving measures, but the man – later identified as 43-year-old Peter Gonzales – was pronounced dead on the scene.
Police initially said they believed two people were involved in a verbal altercation, which led to the shooting. Detectives believed both people knew each other.
On July 25, APD said detectives identified 55-year-old Donathon Bernard Chandler as the prime suspect in Gonzalez's death. On July 20, APD's SWAT team and the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force located and arrested Chandler. He is booked in the Travis County Jail, charged with first-degree murder.
Anyone with any information about this incident should contact APD at 512-974-TIPS. You may also submit your tip anonymously through the Capital Area Crime Stoppers Program online or by calling 512-472-8477.
According to APD, this was Austin's 38th homicide of 2023. It was one of three homicides on Sunday, July 16, alone.