Early morning gunshots disrupted the calm of S. Meadows Drive in Austin, culminating in the city's fifth homicide of the year. According to a statement from the Austin Police Department (APD), officers were called to the scene following a report of shots fired on Monday. While initially no victims were found, subsequent investigation led to a chilling discovery.
The incident began to unfold around 5:27 a.m., when neighbors reported gunfire. The police quickly arrived but found only the echoes of the incident, with evidence such as shell casings to mark the violence that had occurred. It was only roughly 40 minutes later, at 6:08 a.m., that an urgent call was made to 9-1-1, as detailed by the City of Austin. This call reported to have found an unconscious man at a different location, 9806 Middle Fiskville Road, who was soon identified as the victim from the earlier incident on S. Meadows Dr.
The man, now known as Seferino Hernandez-Perez, was pronounced dead at the scene, becoming a statistic in the city’s grim tally of lives lost to violence. APD’s Homicide Detectives and Crime Scene Specialists responded, collecting physical evidence in an attempt to piece together the events that led to Hernandez-Perez's death.
Authorities are reaching out to the community, asking anyone with information to step forward and to help potentially solve this crime. Tips can be submitted by following a link provided by the APD or through a QR code. The Austin Police Department has encouraged those with any relevant tips or evidence to reach out via the department at 512-974-TIPS, or remain anonymous by contacting the Capital Area Crime Stoppers Program at austincrimestoppers.org or by calling 512-472-8477.
