AUSTIN, Texas — Austin police said Thursday there is no indication that three homicides in three consecutive days in Southeast Austin are connected, as investigators continue searching for suspects in two of the cases.
The Austin Police Department released a statement acknowledging public concern over the cluster of killings, which span June 15 through June 17, but said the pattern does not necessarily signal a broader threat.
“While three homicides in three days may feel alarming, it is not unusual for violent crime to occur in temporary spikes or clusters followed by periods of little or no similar activity,” the department said.
Police are actively searching for suspects in two of the three cases. In the first, Jose Salgado-Amador, 28, was fatally shot late June 15 in the parking lot of an AutoZone at 2237 East Riverside Drive during what investigators described as an apparent robbery. A suspect described as a Hispanic male between 15 and 20 years old, last seen wearing a gray hoodie and fleeing in a light-colored sedan, remains at large.
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The third incident, on June 17, involved the death of a woman found with trauma to her body in a public area of the Waters at Bluff Springs apartment complex at 7707 South IH-35 service road northbound. No suspect information has been released in that case.
The middle incident, on June 16, has been classified differently. Investigators determined the deaths of a husband and wife found in the 4700 block of East Oltorf Street were the result of a murder-suicide and a targeted act of domestic violence. APD said there is no ongoing threat to the public related to that case.
The three cases are being investigated as Austin’s 27th, 28th and 29th homicides of 2026.
APD said its Homicide Unit is thoroughly investigating each case and asked anyone with information about the East Riverside Drive or South IH-35 incidents to call the homicide tip line at 512-974-TIPS.