AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin police on Friday said a woman who is accused of shooting and killing a neighbor over the alleged theft of a “Bouncy House” in east Austin has turned herself in.
The Austin Police Department said the shooting happened Monday in the 8400 block of Garcreek Circle just after 8 a.m.
When officers arrived, they found James Traylor, 52, with multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to an area hospital where he died from his injuries.
APD said witnesses told officers Traylor and a neighbor, Nora Lopez, 30, had been arguing over the “alleged theft of a Bouncy House.” Lopez shot Traylor multiple times and fled the scene, APD said.
A first-degree murder warrant was then issued for Lopez.
“They sounded like, ‘bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang,’ Like that,” Henry, a neighbor, said. Henry said he heard six shots.
Another neighbor who wanted to remain anonymous told KXAN there were children nearby when the shooting happened.
“I don’t want them around gunshots, none of that,” the neighbor said.
The anonymous neighbor said regardless of what happened between Lopez and Traylor, it shouldn’t have escalated the way it did.
“I don’t want to see the world like this, I don’t want to see people keep dying. They’re doing things with guns that they can’t change. It’s going to live with them for the rest of their life,” the neighbor said.
Both neighbors KXAN spoke to said they aren’t surprised this happened.
“It’s a rough neighborhood,” Henry said.
Henry wishes bad things where they live weren’t so common.
“And I’m ready to go,” Henry said.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call APD Homicide at (512) 974-TIPS or Crime Stoppers at (512) 472-8477.