A sheriff's official has revealed that the man accused of carrying out a shooting rampage in two Texas cities attempted to escape from jail after his arrest. The suspect, identified as Shane James Jr., 34, has been charged with capital murder in connection with the killings that occurred in Austin and San Antonio earlier this week.
According to Kristen Dark, a spokesperson for the county sheriff's office, the suspect managed to overpower a corrections officer who was opening a door to his housing unit at the Travis County Jail in Austin on Wednesday. He then fled into a nearby hallway before being apprehended by corrections officers.
Despite the escape attempt, Dark assured the public that the jail is a secure facility and the suspect would not have been able to leave the floor or the building. The suspect was eventually restrained and brought back into custody.
The suspect's residence in Austin was checked by the Bexar County Sheriff's Office after the suspect was arrested on Tuesday, leading to the discovery of the victims' bodies. The Sheriff's deputies noticed water leaking from under a door and found the two victims inside the house.
In addition to the two victims found in Austin, the suspect is believed to have killed four other people, according to the police.
Two individuals, Emmanuel Pop Ba, 32, and Sabrina Rahman, 24, were found shot in a neighborhood in Austin on Tuesday. Pop Ba died at the scene, while Rahman died at a hospital.
During the evening of Tuesday, officers engaged in a shootout with the suspect in a backyard while responding to a burglary call. One officer was shot multiple times but sustained non-life-threatening injuries and is currently recovering.
Inside the residence, two people were killed, identified by the police as Catherine Short, 56, and Lauren Short, 30.
