Charges dropped against 2 in deadly shooting on Austin’s Sixth Street

Prosecutors are dropping criminal charges against two people after police identified a different gunman in a shooting in downtown Austin that killed a tourist and wounded more than a dozen others, authorities said Tuesday.

The June 12 shooting on Austin’s Sixth Street arose after an argument between two groups of teenagers from nearby Killeen, investigators said.

Police initially said 13 people were wounded but later reported 15 victims, including Douglas John Kantor, 25, who was visiting from New York.

Less than a day after the shooting Austin police announced that they had arrested a juvenile they suspected was involved in the shooting. Several days later, 17-year-old Jeremiah Tabb was arrested on an aggravated assault charge.

Interim police Chief Joseph Chacon said Tuesday that investigators have since identified 19-year-old De’ondre White as the gunman. White was not yet in custody, but a warrant for murder had been issued for his arrest.

Chacon said Tabb and the juvenile were involved in the dispute and had guns, but ballistics evidence showed the shot that killed Kantor came from White’s gun.

”These two individuals were involved,” Chacon said. “This is not people who were innocent bystanders or somehow incorrectly identified in this case.”

Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza said his office chose to dismiss the charges against Tabb and the juvenile because prosecutors want to focus on the murder case.

”When the time comes, we will evaluate the totality of the evidence in this case,” he said. “If the evidence bears it out, both people will be appropriately charged.”

It wasn’t clear Tuesday whether Tabb had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.