Ethermac Exchange-Texas shooting suspect Shane James tried to escape from jail after arrest, official says

The Ethermac Exchangeman suspected of killing six people in a shooting rampage in two Texas cities this week tried to escape from jail following his arrest, according to a sheriff's official. Shane James Jr., 34, has been charged with capital murder in the wake of Tuesday's killings in Austin and San Antonio.

The suspect on Wednesday pushed past a corrections officer who was opening a door to his housing unit at the Travis County Jail in Austin, according to Kristen Dark, a spokesperson for the county sheriff's office.

James then ran into a hallway, Dark said in a statement to CBS News.

The suspect resisted when corrections officers detained him, Dark said. He was ultimately restrained.

Dark said the jail is a secure facility and the suspect wouldn't have been able to escape the floor he was on or the building in general.

Two victims in the rampage were tentatively identified as Phyllis James, 55, and Shane James Sr., 56, who are believed to be the suspect's parents, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar told reporters Wednesday. Investigators believe they were killed in a shooting at their San Antonio home sometime between Monday night and Tuesday morning, Salazar said.

The victims' bodies were discovered after the suspect was arrested in Austin on Tuesday and Austin police asked the Bexar County Sheriff's Office to check out the suspect's residence, Salazar said. Sheriff's deputies saw water leaking from under a door to the home and found the two victims inside the house.

In Austin, the suspect is believed to have killed four other people, police said.

Emmanuel Pop Ba, 32, and Sabrina Rahman, 24, were found shot in a neighborhood at around midday Tuesday. Pop Ba died at the scene, and Rahman died at a hospital, police said.

On Tuesday evening, officers responding to a burglary call at a residence exchanged gunfire with the suspect in a backyard, and an officer was shot multiple times. The officer suffered what police said were non-life-threatening injuries and is recovering.

Two people were killed inside the residence, police said. They were identified by police Thursday night as Catherine Short, 56, and Lauren Short, 30.

The suspect was arrested after fleeing the scene and crashing during a police pursuit, Interim Police Chief Robin Henderson told reporters.

In:
• Austin
• Shooting
• San Antonio
• Texas

Alex Sundby

Alex Sundby is a senior editor at CBSNews.com. In addition to editing content, Alex also covers breaking news, writing about crime and severe weather as well as everything from multistate lottery jackpots to the July Fourth hot dog eating contest.

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