AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin police said they arrested four people accused in a string of recent robberies in Austin following a shooting at a north Austin shopping center this week, including one person who had been released from juvenile custody with an ankle monitor just beforehand.

According to an arrest affidavit, APD is investigating at least nine robberies and a stolen car case starting Friday and ending Tuesday, when police helped a 17-year-old suspect who they said was shot during a robbery at The Domain, near 3400 Palm Way. According to an affidavit, one of the victims shot the suspect as he pointed his gun at a second victim. The hurt suspect got in a car and drove off.

“Before you’re actually attacked, you can respond first,” said retired judge Charlie Baird about the robbery victim’s right to use force under Texas law.

According to police, they responded less than a mile from the robbery scene around 4:10 p.m. to help a person who had been shot at Burnet Road and Esperanza Crossing, shutting down that area for part of the afternoon. According to the affidavit, “officers were able to determine the two calls were related based upon descriptions provided to dispatch by the victim of the robbery.”

Edwin, an employee at one of the businesses where a robbery happened in the parking lot, says the victim was one of his clients and was there with his child.

“It was scary because it was happening just in front of us,” said Edwin. “We had four people inside of our business and we just ran away from the windows.”

Police said the car involved was stolen and had also been part of a robbery at 1021 Reinli Street in east Austin about an hour earlier, at 3:15 p.m.. According to an affidavit, police recovered a backpack the victims of The Domain robbery said was taken, as well as several handguns.

There were four people in the car, including one who was underage.

• Jaylyn Reed, 17, was the one who had been shot and was taken to the hospital, according to the affidavit. Reed faces an aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon charge. He is not listed as having been booked in jail.
• Andre Harris, 18, faces an aggravated robbery charge, unlawful carrying of a weapon and an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge, according to online jail records. He is currently in custody in the Travis County Jail.
• Paul Rossum, 18, faces an aggravated robbery and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge, according to online jail records. He is currently in custody in the Travis County Jail.
• A minor also faces aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon charge and is in custody at the Gradner-Betts Juvenile Justice Center.

KXAN reached out to Reed and Harris’ attorneys and will update this story when we receive a response. Rossum does not have an attorney listed online at this time. According to an affidavit, Harris told police he was sleeping during the robbery and woke up afterward. Rossum also told police he didn’t know the robbery was going to happen, the affidavit said.

Police released a list of the nine robbery cases the four are accused of being involved in:

• June 10, 2022 – 614 E. St. Johns
• June 10, 2022 – 10810 N. Lamar Blvd.
• June 12, 2022 – 825 E. Rundberg Ln.
• June 12, 2022 – 1711 Rutland Dr.
• June 12, 2022 – 701 Masterson Pass
• June 12, 2022 – 701 Masterson Pass
• June 12, 2022 – 2101 Wickersham Dr.
• June 14, 2022 – 1012 Reinli St.
• June 14, 2022 – 3400 Palm Way

Police said all happened during the day and that some of the victims had been “pistol-whipped.” It released surveillance images from some of them.

Austin police said they knew Reed, Rossum and the underage person from a 2021 investigation into a string of robberies and car thefts, the affidavit said. That series involved nine aggravated robberies and several stolen vehicles, APD said.

Reed had been released from juvenile custody related to those cases on May 27 with an ankle monitor.

“Two days later, he cut off his ankle monitor and began a series of nine armed robberies in five days,” Austin police said in a release.