Cristian Fajardo Mondragon is facing multiple charges, including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault/motor vehicle and deadly conduct.
AUSTIN, Texas — One of the three suspects charged in connection with multiple shootings over the weekend in Austin has been identified as 17-year-old Cristian Mondragon, according to law enforcement sources.
Mondragon is expected to be charged with multiple counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault/motor vehicle, deadly conduct, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, evading arrest, theft of a firearm and other related charges. Additional charges may be filed as investigators review evidence, surveillance footage and witness statements.
Mondragon and two other suspects were arrested Sunday following multiple shootings across Austin on Saturday and Sunday. The other two suspects – a 16-year-old boy and 15-year-old boy – are juveniles, meaning police are limited in what information they can release about them.
The suspects carried out up to 12 shootings, injuring four people, according to Austin Police Department Chief Lisa Davis. One victim sustained serious injuries and is in critical condition, and the other three have minor injuries.
According to police, there is no clear motive to the shootings, and they appear to be a mix of random and targeted shootings. Some victims were known to the suspects, police said, while other victims and locations had no known connection.
At least two of the shootings occurred at Austin fire stations, a number happened at apartment complexes and some happened at homes and stores. Most of the shootings occurred in South Austin and East Austin, and Davis said that pole camera captured footage of two people being shot in front of a store.
Timeline of events
Police said the incidents began when officers received reports of a stolen firearm from a business at 321 W. Ben White Blvd. in South Austin around 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 16. Surveillance footage identified the suspect vehicle as a dark-colored Hyundai Sonata that had been stolen from the Social Apartments at 1817 E. Oltorf Drive.
The first confirmed shooting happened around 3:58 p.m. Saturday at a trailer residence at 10 Yucca Drive, near the Austin airport. No injuries were reported.
At 4:30 p.m. Saturday, police responded to another shooting at the Whisper Hollow apartments in southeast Austin. Multiple vehicles and an occupied apartment were struck, including rooms occupied by young children, APD said. No injuries were reported. Surveillance footage showed a black sedan involved in the shooting.
A third shooting was reported at 6:08 p.m. Saturday at 1601 Montopolis Dr. – also in southeast Austin – at an apartment complex. APD said the suspects exited the vehicle and fired through the door of a third-floor apartment. No injuries were reported. Witnesses told police they saw a suspect in a black hoodie enter a black sedan and flee the scene. Detectives began investigating the incidents as a series of shootings.
At 6:19 p.m. Saturday, an unoccupied residence at 4802 Cypress Bend in southeast Austin was struck by gunfire. Police said the homeowner returned home to discover bullet holes in his house and vehicle. Surveillance footage again showed the dark-colored sedan linked to the previous shootings.
A Hyundai Elantra was reported stolen at 7 p.m. Saturday from a Motel 6 parking lot at 2707 S. I-35 Service Road North. Police said the suspects matched the description from previous incidents.
At 8:30 p.m., shots were fired at a business at 6575 Decker Lane in East Austin and hit nearby vehicles. A witness reported the suspect had fired shots into the air from a vehicle. No injuries were reported.
At 8:49 p.m. Saturday, shots were fired at Austin Fire Station 26 at 6702 Wentworth Drive in East Austin while firefighters were inside. The gunfire hit fire trucks and equipment, but no injuries were reported.
A seventh shooting was reported at 8:55 p.m. Saturday at 5701 Purple Sage Drive. Two victims said the suspects fired from the vehicle, hitting the windshield of their car, which was parked. One victim, who was sitting inside the vehicle when it was hit, had minor injuries from the shattered glass. The description of the sedan matched the description from previous incidents, police said.
The incidents continued on Sunday when another vehicle was reported stolen from 2336 Douglas Street in southeast Austin at 3:50 a.m. At 7:45 a.m. Sunday, officers later recovered a stolen vehicle at 1800 E. Stassney Lane with bullet damage believed to be connected to the ongoing incidents.
A victim was then shot in the back and stomach at 7409 Janes Ranch Road, near the intersection of East William Cannon Drive and McKinney Falls Parkway, around 8:46 a.m. Sunday. Witnesses described a dark-colored sedan driving away.
Officers located one of the stolen Hyundai vehicles connected with the shootings around 9 a.m. Sunday at South First Street and Ben White Boulevard, but the car fled before police could make a traffic stop. More stolen vehicles were later recovered around 9:30 a.m. in southeast Austin.
A second fire station was targeted at 10:46 a.m. Sunday. APD said the suspects fired at Austin Fire Station 32 at 2804 Montebello Road in southwest Austin from a gold-colored sedan, striking a fire vehicle and structure.
Investigators believe the suspects then stole a white Kia Optima from 4501 S. I-35 Service Road North around 1:27 p.m. Sunday.
Two victims were shot at 1:44 p.m. Sunday at 2223 Burton Drive in southeast Austin in a drive-by shooting involving the white Optima. A second shooting involving the white sedan was reported at 1:53 p.m. Sunday at 6118 Fairway St.
Another shots-fired incident was reported at 2:02 p.m. Sunday at 10001 Burleson Road, near Richard Moya Park.
In another shooting at 11700 Dionda Lane in Del Valle around 2:29 p.m., a victim sustained life-threatening injuries. The victim is still at a local hospital, police said in an update on Monday afternoon.
Shortly after 3:20 p.m. Sunday, Manor police say they used Flock Safety technology to locate the white Kia believed to be involved in the incidents. In an update Sunday night, law enforcement said they found the vehicle near South San Marcos Street and East Carrie Manor Street, before a pursuit ended near the 13600 block of North FM 973 Rd. Police said three people then fled the vehicle.
The first two suspects were arrested at around 3:50 p.m. Sunday in Manor, according to police. The third suspect remained on the run throughout most of the day but was eventually detained by Manor police at around 9:30 p.m. Sunday at H-E-B Fuel at 13100 North FM 973 Rd. He was taken into custody by Austin police.
The Manor Police Department issued a shelter-in-place order Sunday afternoon for Ralph Ritchie/Suncrest Road, North FM 973 Road near Suncrest Road/Tower Road, the Presidential Meadows subdivision, Greenbury subdivision, Stonewater subdivision. Manor police say they launched a search that included nearly 200 officers including a canine unit, SWAT, helicopter and drone support. The shelter-in-place order was lifted just before 8 p.m. Sunday.
Multiple victims, property damage
Police said over the course of the 12 shootings, four people were shot, including one with critical injuries. Five vehicles, as well as three fire department vehicles, were struck by gunfire. Suspects also shot at four residences and two fire stations.
At least five vehicles were stolen, as well as one firearm, APD said.
“For the emergency to come to us is very unusual,” said Roberto Tijerina with the Austin Firefighters Association. “It just put everybody at a heightened sense of awareness.”
Tijerina told KVUE crews initially believed the shooting at Fire Station 26 was an isolated incident, but after a second station was targeted, firefighters immediately went into lockdown, moving units into the bay, closing all doors and limiting public access.
“Firefighters, we’re always trained to respond to, you know, unpredictable emergencies. But incidents like this remind us that, responders themselves can be part become part of the environment,” he said. “And so our mission never changes, but the awareness and safety protocols may evolve.”
The response to the shootings involved multiple agencies, including Air Support, K9 units, Metro Tactical teams, Tactical Intelligence Unit, Violent Crimes Task Force, patrol resources, SWAT teams, crime scene specialists, Austin Fire Department, Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services, Texas DPS, Travis County Sheriff’s Office, Manor Police Department, AISD Police Department, Del Valle ISD Police Department, University of Texas Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
Anyone with any evidence or information is asked to contact APD at 512-974-5177 or contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 512-472-8477, or by visiting austincrimestoppers.org.