Texas shooting spree: Shane James Jr. competent to stand trial, says Travis County judge

AUSTIN, Texas - Shane James Jr. has been ruled competent to stand trial by a Travis County judge.

The judge has ordered his criminal cases to proceed in the 147th Criminal District Court.

James is accused of murdering his parents, Shane James Sr. and Phyllis James in San Antonio, Texas, then traveling to the Austin area and murdering 24-year-old Sabrina Rahman and 32-year-old Emmanuel Pop Ba in South Austin and 56-year-old Katherine Short and 30-year-old Lauren Short in Southwest Austin. He also allegedly shot and injured an Austin ISD police officer, an Austin police officer and a cyclist.

What we know:

The Travis County District Attorney's office says that the judge’s decision was based on the evaluation report received from the state mental health hospital that restored James’s competency to stand trial.

In October 2024, a Travis County judge had previously ruled Shane James incompetent to stand trial and ordered that he be committed to a mental health hospital for treatment.

Under Texas law, a criminal defendant cannot be tried if they lack the capacity to understand the proceedings against them, to consult with counsel, or to assist in preparing a defense.

All parties will discuss a possible trial date during future court settings, says the DA's office.

What's next:

Travis County court records show James has a pre-trial hearing on August 25.

Texas shooting spree

The backstory:

The spree is believed to have begun in San Antonio at James' parents' home, but their bodies were not discovered until after James' arrest in the Austin area.

Court paperwork filed in Bexar County says the sheriff's office was contacted by Austin police after James was taken into custody on Dec. 5, 2023. APD asked for BCSO to perform a welfare check on James' parents and advised that James had been driving a Nissan Versa registered with his father at one point during the spree.

Deputies responded to the home in the 6400 block of Port Royal Street and tried to contact the residents inside. Two dogs could be heard inside the house and deputies noticed running water along the side of the house.

Citing exigent circumstances, deputies forced their way into the garage and into the home. Blood was found in the kitchen, and a trail of it led deputies to a bathroom next to the master bedroom. They attempted to open the door, but it was blocked.

When deputies eventually opened the door, they found the bodies of Phyllis and Shane James Sr inside. Their identities were later confirmed via fingerprints by the Bexar County Medical Examiner.

A search warrant issued for the home uncovered shell casings, "written words, phrases, and notes thumbtacked to the wall," "several written journals," and a laptop, all collected by investigators.

Investigators at the scene interviewed Phyllis and Shane's two adult children, who had traveled to San Antonio after several attempts to reach their parents. The siblings told investigators their brother Shane suffered from schizophrenia after being discharged from the Army for family violence in 2015 and continued to mentally decompensate.

In an interview with investigators, Shane James Jr stated he had been feeling impending doom, and it got worse, according to court paperwork. On the morning of Dec. 5, he had been watching YouTube videos and putting notes on his wall in anger. He later went downstairs to ask his father a question, but his father made a joke.

After that, James said he went upstairs to load his pistol and then back downstairs and shot his father twice in the head. He then went to his parents' bedroom where his mother was screaming and shot her in the head once, then again because he "didn't want his mother to suffer," said the court paperwork.

He then dragged their bodies into the master bathroom, took money from his mother's purse, then left the home in his father's car heading north towards Austin.

James' alleged actions in Austin

The spree in Austin started around 10:40 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023, when an Austin ISD police sergeant reported they had been shot in the leg in the parking lot of Nelson Field, across the street from Northeast Early College High School.

The school was placed on lockdown at 10:46 a.m. as police searched for the suspect, later identified by police as James. 15 law enforcement agencies responded to assist.

Then, around 11:59 a.m., police received multiple 911 calls about a shooting in the 7300 block of Shadywood Drive, near South First and William Cannon.

A FOX 7 Austin source said the suspect saw a handyman sitting in his car in front of a home and shot the man through the passenger window. A woman inside the home where the handyman was working came outside to see what happened. The suspect then chased her down the road, caught up with her, and shot her. 

The suspect then returned to the car the handyman was in, threw the man out of the car and stole it, a FOX 7 Austin source said.

The handyman, 32-year-old Emmanual Pop Ba, and the woman, 24-year-old Sabrina Rahman, both died.

Around 5:57 p.m., police say a 39-year-old male cyclist was shot in the 5700 block of West Slaughter Lane. His injuries were non-life-threatening.

Then, around 6:48 p.m., police got a call about a burglary in progress in the 5300 block of Austral Loop.

At 6:54 p.m., the initial responding officer saw the suspect in the backyard of the home, and the suspect opened fire. Police say the officer returned fire and the officer was shot multiple times. The suspect was not hit.

Police say the suspect fled the scene in a vehicle and, around 7:14 p.m., after a pursuit with officers, the suspect crashed at the intersection of South Highway 45 and FM 1826 and was taken into custody.

While the pursuit was happening, officers entered the home on Austral Loop and discovered two bodies inside.

Crime and Public SafetyAustinSan Antonio