Giovanni Armando Cruz, 28, faces a second-degree felony charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in connection with a Sept. 9 hatchet attack at Metz Neighborhood Park, KXAN Austin reported. He was already in custody on an unrelated burglary warrant when detectives interviewed him in October, the station reported; the later assault warrant did not mark his initial arrest.
What police say happened
The victim, Jose Perez-Sanchez, told police he was sitting on a bench after riding his bike into the East Austin park when a stranger ran toward him with a hatchet and struck him, according to KXAN’s account of the case. Perez-Sanchez suffered cuts to his head, arm and shoulder that required 13 stitches and four staples. Two witnesses also told police they saw a man approach and attack him before fleeing toward the lake, KXAN reported.
Investigators later received a tip from a transient man known to frequent the area, who approached officers while they were on patrol on East Cesar Chavez Street and said someone known as “Gio” had hit a person with an axe-type weapon. Detectives connected the nickname to Cruz through prior interactions, KXAN reported. Cruz denied remembering a fight at Metz Park during an Oct. 8 interview, then asked for a lawyer after detectives said someone had identified him. Perez-Sanchez selected Cruz from a photo lineup on Oct. 15, according to the station.
KXAN reported that Cruz had been charged with 27 criminal offenses in Travis County since 2022: 21 felonies and six misdemeanors. Those are charges, not convictions.
Park setting, different circumstances
Metz Neighborhood Park is a 6.9-acre site with a playscape, splash pad, pool, covered basketball court and bike polo court next to the Mendez Recreation Center, according to Austin Parks and Recreation. The park setting alone does not establish a broader pattern of violence.
A separate incident illustrates why circumstances matter when comparing public-park assaults: the Austin Police Department said a disturbance near the basketball courts at Gillis Neighborhood Park on Aug. 26, 2026, became a fight in which a suspect allegedly struck someone in the head with a large stick. APD described that incident as arising during an argument; the Metz Park attack, as reported by KXAN, was described by the victim as unprovoked and involved a hatchet. These separate cases do not by themselves show an increase in park violence.
