FREDERICKSBURG, Texas — Fredericksburg police have arrested a man they say shot and killed another man before robbing a convenience store on Tuesday.
The Fredericksburg Police Department (FPD) said shortly before midnight on Jan. 2, officers responded to the Kwikcheck Convenience Store at 1001 S. State Highway 16. When they arrived, they found a man with a gunshot wound. Officers performed first aid, but the man later died.
Officers met with the clerk on-duty at the store and learned that a male suspect had entered the store, went to the back, put on a white skull mask and returned to the front, where he fired his weapon and hit the victim. The suspect then allegedly demanded money from the clerk, who retrieved it from the cash register. Then the suspect promptly left.
The police department said officers were able to review the store's surveillance video of the incident, which revealed the suspect arrived and left the store on foot.
On Jan. 4, police said they received a tip the previous evening that led them to identify the suspect as 21-year-old Awes Singko Rapet. FPD detectives and the Texas Rangers obtained an arrest warrant and search warrant for Rapet, who was staying at a local motel.
At around 11:45 p.m. on Jan. 3, officers arrested Rapet without incident. He is currently being held in the Gillespie County Jail.
"The Fredericksburg Police Department would like to thank the community for their assistance in identifying Rapet and determining his whereabouts. His quick apprehension would not have been possible without all the phone calls, emails, and Crimestoppers Tips received by law enforcement from our community," FPD said. "We would also like to thank the Gillespie County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance in executing the arrest warrant and search warrant."