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Suspect in South Austin shooting spree declared incompetent for trial

Officials said Charles Curry will be taken to a psychiatric facility until he is fit to return to Travis County for the litigation process to continue.

AUSTIN, Texas — The suspect in a July 2018 shooting spree that injured several people and left a man dead in South Austin has been declared incompetent for trial.

According to Assistant District Attorney Joe Frederick, a court-appointed doctor evaluated Charles Curry and, after psychological testing, determined that Curry would be unable to assist in his defense.

Officials said Curry will be sent to a state psychiatric facility, a doctor will prescribe a course of treatment, and he will hopefully be able to regain competency within 120 days. If that occurs, he will return to Travis County for the litigation process to resume.

Curry was arrested in July after a shooting spree that spanned multiple days around Austin. He is charged in the murder of 32-year-old Christian Meroney, who was found shot to death at an apartment complex on July 9.

Meroney was found dead at the Post South Lamar face up in a pool of blood next to the door of his apartment. A temporary check made out to the apartment complex for July rent was found crumpled up next to his body.

On July 11, Curry reportedly entered the Range at Austin to buy a gun suppressor. An employee there reported that Curry was acting strangely, so he refused to sell it to him. He then reportedly told the employee that he had a rifle and walked out of the store. 

A victim traveling near the store on Interstate Highway 35 reported that Curry then pulled out in front of her, causing her to need to change lanes. At this point, she said Curry began firing at her vehicle.

On July 12, another woman reported that Curry fired at her vehicle while she was driving with her children on the 8100 block of I-35. She suffered a superficial gunshot wound to the head.

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He was also apparently involved in three other random, unprovoked incidents:

  • 5300 block of Ponciana Drive around 2:40 p.m.
  • 1500 block of S. Lamar (near the Post South Lamar apartments) at 2:32 p.m.
  • 4000 block of S. Lamar at 2:35 p.m. Police said the bullet entered the vehicle right behind the driver's head. The 25-year-old female suffered facial injuries from broken glass.

Curry was eventually taken into custody back at the Post South Lamar as he was attempting to gain entry into the apartment building. Police reported the complex had revoked his building access, which caused his keys not to work.

KVUE previously reported that Curry, a former employee of the Texas State Capitol, had been a subject of concern for months. Reports about his behavior were made to the Texas DPS after he was reportedly terminated by the office of Sen. Joan Huffman in May 2017. After he would continue to show up at the Capitol, a trooper was sent to his former office to provide safety awareness information.  

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