Sifte Radio

Tag: Texas crime news

  • Three Young Suspects Arrested After Random Austin Shootings Leave Four Injured

    Three Young Suspects Arrested After Random Austin Shootings Leave Four Injured

    Three young people have been arrested following a series of random shootings across Austin that left four people injured over the weekend, according to local authorities.

    Police said at least 10 shootings and robberies occurred between Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, prompting a large shelter-in-place order across parts of southern Austin as officers searched for the suspects.

    Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said the suspects drove around the city in stolen vehicles while allegedly firing at apartment complexes, homes and even two fire stations.

    Two boys, ages 15 and 17, were first taken into custody after police stopped a stolen vehicle and the suspects attempted to flee on foot.

    Authorities later detained a third juvenile suspect at a gas station in Manor, located northeast of Austin. Police did not release the suspect’s age or identity.

    Officials said at least four victims were hospitalized, including one person who suffered critical injuries.

    Investigators also revealed that the firearm allegedly used in the shootings had previously been stolen by the 15-year-old suspect, while the 17-year-old was reportedly wanted in connection with another firearm theft case.

    According to police, the suspects stole at least four vehicles during the crime spree.

    Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said authorities have not identified a clear motive behind the attacks.

    “These actions appear to be random,” Watson said.

    After two suspects were captured, city officials lifted the shelter-in-place order that had affected residents across a large section of southern Austin.

    The investigation remains ongoing.

  • Texas Carries Out 600th Execution Since 1982 as Edward Busby Jr. Put to Death

    Texas Carries Out 600th Execution Since 1982 as Edward Busby Jr. Put to Death

    Texas has carried out its 600th execution since reinstating the death penalty in 1982 after Edward Busby Jr. was executed Thursday evening for the 2004 killing of retired college professor Laura Lee Crane.

    Busby, 55, was pronounced dead at 8:11 p.m. at the state penitentiary in Huntsville following a lethal injection, hours after the U.S. Supreme Court lifted a temporary stay related to claims that he was intellectually disabled.

    The execution marked the fourth in Texas this year and the 12th execution nationwide in 2026.

    Busby was convicted of abducting 77-year-old Laura Lee Crane, a retired Texas Christian University professor, from a grocery store parking lot in Fort Worth in January 2004. Prosecutors said Crane was left bound in the trunk of her car with duct tape wrapped around her face, causing her to suffocate.

    Authorities later arrested Busby in Oklahoma City while he was driving Crane’s vehicle. Investigators said he subsequently directed law enforcement officers to Crane’s body near the Texas-Oklahoma border.

    Before the execution began, Busby offered repeated apologies to Crane’s family and expressed remorse for the crime.

    “I am so sorry for what happened,” he said in his final statement. “Miss Crane was a lovely woman. I never meant anything bad to happen to her.”

    He also told witnesses he wished he could “take it all back” and admitted he had “no right to get in that car.”

    According to witnesses, Busby lost consciousness shortly after the lethal injection was administered and was officially pronounced dead 38 minutes later.

    The case drew national attention because experts hired by both prosecutors and defense attorneys had previously concluded that Busby was intellectually disabled. Under a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, executing intellectually disabled individuals is unconstitutional.

    Busby’s legal team argued that his death sentence should be overturned based on those findings. The Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office had also earlier recommended reducing his sentence to life imprisonment.

    However, the trial judge rejected the intellectual disability findings in 2023 and upheld the death sentence. Texas officials later argued that Busby’s appeals lacked merit and contained conflicting evidence.

    The Supreme Court ultimately sided with the Texas Attorney General’s Office, allowing the execution to proceed after overturning a lower court’s stay order.

    Busby’s co-defendant, Kathleen Latimer, is currently serving a life sentence for murder in connection with Crane’s death.

    Bryan Mark Rigg, representing Crane’s family during the execution, said the family’s focus remained on justice and remembrance rather than revenge.

    He described Crane as a respected educator who spent decades helping children overcome learning disabilities and said the case was about “accountability under the law and remembering the life of an extraordinary educator.”

  • FBI Says Austin Bar Mass Shooter Acted Alone in Deadly Texas Attack Linked to Iran War Anger

    FBI Says Austin Bar Mass Shooter Acted Alone in Deadly Texas Attack Linked to Iran War Anger

    The FBI has concluded that the gunman responsible for the deadly mass shooting at a downtown Austin bar in March acted alone and had no known ties to any foreign terrorist organization.

    According to investigators, 53 year old Ndiaga Diagne carried out the attack at Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden in Austin, Texas, killing three people and injuring more than a dozen others before being shot dead by police officers.

    Federal authorities said the motive was not entirely clear, but evidence suggests Diagne was influenced by anger over the United States and Israel’s military actions against Iran. The shooting occurred shortly after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes connected to the conflict.

    The FBI revealed that Diagne wore clothing featuring an Iranian flag design and the phrase “Property of Allah” during the attack. Investigators also determined that he admired Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, whose reported death was believed to have deeply affected him.

    Officials described the attack as a “violent, impulsive” act carried out without external support, funding, or operational assistance from any terrorist group.

    The FBI stated that Diagne had never previously been the subject of a federal investigation. Authorities confirmed there is currently no evidence linking him to organized extremist networks or foreign-backed operations.

    Diagne, originally from Senegal, entered the United States in 2000 on a tourist visa before later obtaining lawful permanent residency through marriage to a U.S. citizen, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

    The attack unfolded in Austin’s busy entertainment district when Diagne reportedly drove past the bar before returning and opening fire from his SUV at people gathered outside and inside the venue. He later exited the vehicle armed with a rifle and continued shooting at pedestrians before police officers confronted and fatally shot him.

    The incident shocked residents in Austin and reignited national conversations around public safety, politically motivated violence, and extremist influences tied to international conflicts.