East Austin BBQ restaurant shooting suspect arrested during multi-agency operation

AUSTIN, Texas - A man accused in a shootout at an East Austin BBQ restaurant has been caught in a massive criminal targeting operation.

The multi-agency sweep aimed to remove violent offenders from the streets and arrest wanted people. 

Dalen Harris, 22, of Houston, was arrested in Temple as part of "Operation Joint Venture." 

It is unclear at this time what Harris will be charged with in the shooting.

What was Operation Joint Venture?

Operation Joint Venture was conducted between May 4 through May 8 and was a joint agency operation to locate wanted fugitives, as well as combat violent crime in Bell, Coryell and McLennan Counties.

Multiple agencies were involved, including the United States Marshals Service Lone Star Fugitive Task Force, the Texas Department of Public Safety, Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations and the Killeen Police Department.

Officials say more than 70 warrants were cleared and more than 1,000 grams of narcotics and nearly $4,500 in U.S. currency was also seized.

Harris was one of 90 people that were arrested.

The backstory:

East Austin shooting: What happened

Police said calls came in around 8:30 p.m. on April 26 about a shooting outside Sam's BBQ on E. 12th Street, near Poquito Street.

A preliminary investigation states that two men were involved in a fight that escalated into a shooting. 

In the video, a man in black can be seen punching a man wearing a white T-shirt. Once the punching stops, the man in white reaches into his waistband, appearing to grab a weapon. Another man wearing a flannel jacket then joins alongside him, also reaching for his waistband and producing a weapon. Those two then approach the man in black. 

When slowed down, the video appears to show that the man in black uses his own gun to fire the first shots. The man in flannel then seems to respond with his own wave of gunfire, keeping his sights set on the man in black as he runs down the street. 

The crowd began to flee in all directions to avoid the line of fire. Moments later, another exchange of gunfire can be heard. The man in white who was initially getting punched then reappears in the video and begins yelling, but it's unclear exactly what he is saying. 

Six victims were treated at local hospitals for non-life-threatening injuries. They are OK, police said.

In April, Wesley Brown, 24, was arrested and booked into the Travis County Jail. 

He was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Crime and Public SafetyEast Austin