Number of murders surpass previous two years

David Wintermute thought it was going to be a typical Saturday morning in his South Austin neighborhood.

“I was on my way to work. It freaked me out they had the streets blocked off, because I've never seen anything like that around here,” said Wintermute.

Inside a home on the 7700 block of Whitsun Drive, a caretaker found a couple, a man and woman dead from gunshots. Police say Vinton Andrews shot Patricia Andrews, and then turned the gun on himself. Police say the two had a history of health issues, which was a factor.

“I don't know what was going on with the couple it happened to but everybody goes through their personal issues,” said Wintermute.

This past Friday kicked off a deadly weekend. Friday afternoon a groundskeeper found a man's body in a field in North Austin. The murder suicide happened Saturday and then Monday morning just after 1 AM, a shooting in the Austin City Lights complex off Stassney Road.

“Officers arrived a located a subject with penetrating trauma. They attempted life saving measures along with EMS, but the subject was soon pronounced deceased,” said Detective Lee Knouse, Austin Police Department.

This only added to the already high number of homicides in Austin this year. So far in 2016 there have been 36 murders. Last year, there were 23. In 2014 there were 31. 2016 has surpassed both numbers.

“It's kind of scary to be honest with you because at any point in time it could be somebody close to you, somebody you don't know or do know, who does end up dying,” said Wintermute.

Although things like this don't happen often in Wintermute's neighborhood, he remains proud of the city he moved to in 1993, he just hopes it doesn't lose its charm to violent crime.

Police do have a suspect in custody. They say he shot his friend accidentally. They are charging him with manslaughter.