AUSTIN, Texas — Three teenage suspects accused of shooting and robbing another 18-year-old over narcotics at a South Austin apartment have been arrested.
The victim suffered life-threatening injuries after being shot in the chest. His condition is not known at this time.
Austin-Travis County EMS and police responded to Algarita Avenue on a shots-fired call on Wednesday evening. Patrol Cpl. Taber White said a Good Samaritan stopped to help the victim until units arrived. ATCEMS took the man to South Austin Medical Center with critical injuries from a gunshot wound.
An officer on scene told KVUE the suspect fled in a vehicle, possibly a white or silver SUV-type vehicle with a sticker on the back window.
Around 7:06 p.m. on that same evening, police responded to a second shots-fired call and were waved down by the complainant, who stated he heard several gunshots while traveling southbound on South Pleasant Valley Drive from Teri Road coming from light gray colored Chevy SUV traveling northbound.
Police then obtained camera footage from the All Star Grocery at 4600 Teri Road and discovered a gray GMC SUV with a sticker on the back window. That vehicle drove westbound on Teri Road towards South Pleasant Valley Road, coming to a stop at the intersection. There, the front seat and back seat passengers engaged in some form of communication with three unknown subjects who were walking nearby.
Later, an officer observed a gray GMC SUV traveling westbound on Spring Meadow Drive come to a stop at Nuckols Crossing Road, failing to stop at a designated point. Officers eventually conducted a traffic stop and took all three of its passengers to Austin police headquarters.
Police said the three teens admitted to driving together to the apartment complex to meet another man who was going to sell them narcotics. They then said they planned to rob the victim once they arrived. When the victim came out to meet them with a bag, they said there was a scuffle with a gun in which it went off and struck the victim multiple times. They then took his bag and drove off.
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Later, they admitted again to firing shots at the intersection of South Pleasant Valley Drive and Teri Road because the people there were throwing gang signs at them.
Suspect Caleb Carlton, 18, allegedly fired the shots, and he has been charged with aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony. Court records indicate 17-year-olds Guadalupe Tellez and Amilcar Jose Somarriba Mungia are also charged with aggravated robbery. Bond is set at $75,000 for each suspect.
Police said they saw a red-and-black bag in their vehicle, along with a pistol and ammunition.
KVUE spoke with Jackie Workman, who lives in the apartment building near where the shooting happened.
“I was sitting in my living room, I live on the edge of the building over there and I heard four loud pops and my first thought was, 'Oh, that sounds like a gun,'" Workman said. "It was really rapid. It was just like, pop, pop, pop, pop."
She said she's lived in the area for a little over a year and has never seen or heard something like this.
“It's like, pretty alarming once you realize that’s what happened. You like, call everyone you know that like, lives in the building," Workman said. “You don’t really expect to hear something like this going on at Travis Heights ... We all just hope he’s okay. I mean, this is a pretty friendly apartment building."
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