AUSTIN, Texas — A man was arrested last week for allegedly firing a gun at two other people near Zilker Park, according to an affidavit obtained by KVUE.
The affidavit states that on Sunday, June 12, an Austin Police Department officer responded to a "gun urgent" call on Azie Morton Road. When they arrived, the officer was flagged down by three people.
Two of the people said a man, identified as 34-year-old Luis Joel Garcia, had pointed a gun at them, threatened them and fired the gun into the door of their friend's vehicle.
One of the witnesses told the officer that she knew Garcia from attending the "Sunday drum circle" at Zilker Park, according to the affidavit. She also said she had received a hostile Facebook message from Garcia a few months ago, where Garcia sent her a photo of a gun and called her racist after she declined to hang out with or talk to him.
On June 12, the witness said after she and one of the other witnesses left the drum circle, they walked to the parking lot and were standing with some other friends near their friend's vehicle. She said Garcia, who appeared to be intoxicated, approached them with a gun in his hands, acting "verbally aggressive."
The witnesses told the officer that Garcia fired one round towards them into the exterior of the open driver's door they were standing behind before approaching them and pointing the gun in their faces.
One of the witnesses said Garcia attempted to "pistol whip" her face, but she was able to step back so she wasn't struck. The witnesses ran away from Garcia into the park and their other friends drove away in the vehicle that had been shot at, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit additionally states that on June 15, three days after the incident near Zilker Park, an APD officer received an anonymous tip indicating that Garcia was planning to commit a mass shooting during the next Sunday drum circle.
Jail records show that Garcia was booked into the Travis County Correctional Complex on June 16. He is facing two charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony.
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