The Austin Police Department is asking for community help in identifying a pair of individuals believed to be connected to fraudulent use of a vehicle burglary victim’s credit cards.

APD asked for help identifying the two individuals captured on security footage at the Walmart and Murphy Gas Station. According to the press release, the two suspects were recorded making unauthorized purchases at both stores after a vehicle burglary.

The victim’s vehicle was burglarized on the morning of Dec. 22 in the 300 block of Atlanta Street while the victim was jogging.

The two suspects were seen in a white, four-door sedan with extensive damage to the front left quarter panel. APD released photos of the vehicle and of the two men.

Anyone with information can submit an anonymous tip through the Capital Area Crime Stoppers Program online or by calling 512-472-8477.

APD also offered a few safety tips to help residents avoid become victims of vehicle burglaries. The tips include:

• Make a habit out of locking the vehicle, even if you’re only leaving it for a short time.
• Hide or take any valuable items with you.
• When possible, park in well-lit and high-traffic areas.
• Use anti-theft devices such as steering wheel locks, alarms, or GPS tracking devices.
• Stay vigilant and aware of your surroundings.

There is evidence to suggest that popular parks and trails in Austin are often hot spots for car burglaries. In response, the department announced last year a coordinated initiative alongside the District Attorney’s Office, the County Attorney’s Office, and the Texas Department of Public Safety.

The effort was aimed at coordinating enforcement, prosecution, and prevention efforts. Contact the department’s Burglary Unit for more information.

If you opened your phone’s weather app to an air quality alert this morning in Austin, you’re not alone — apps like the Apple Weather app, AccuWeather and IQAir have deemed the air quality “unhealthy for sensitive groups” Thursday.

Here’s what you need to know about the air quality in Austin on Thursday and what exactly makes it unhealthy.

The short answer: pollution.

According to AirNow, a government website sharing air quality data, air quality is essentially graded on an index from zero to 300+, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Quality Index (AQI). The numbers are calculated by the concentration of five major air pollutants regulated by the Clean Air Act: ground-level ozone, particle pollution (also known as particulate matter), carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. The numbers coincide with categories: good, moderate, unhealthy for sensitive groups, unhealthy, very unhealthy and hazardous. The most extreme category — hazards — indicates emergency conditions, while the least extreme — good — indicates that air pollution poses little or no risk to the public.

Thursday’s AQI is well over 100, according to multiple weather sources, meaning it’s unhealthy for sensitive groups and experts are encouraging folks to stay indoors as much as possible.

AccuWeather cites PM2.5 as “fine particulate matter,” meaning small pollutant particles with a diameter less than 2.5 micrometers. These particles can be inhaled and enter the lungs and bloodstream.

“The most severe impacts are on the lungs and heart,” the AccuWeather website reads. “Exposure can result in coughing or difficulty breathing, aggravated asthma, and the development of chronic respiratory disease.”

According to experts at McGill University in Canada, PM2.5 is the type of air pollution that kills the most people worldwide. Experts have called for worldwide air quality standards to prevent what they say are “preventable” deaths from inhaling PM2.5 particles.

According to the American Lung Association, Austin is high-risk for ozone pollution. A 2025 study gave Travis County a failing grade for the number of high ozone days, as well as for average annual particle pollution. The study gave Travis County a “B” grade for 24-hour particle pollution, meaning the area averaged fewer unhealthy air days due to PM2.5 particles. But the bad days outweighed the good ones, earning Travis County an “F” overall for annual particle pollution. The American Lung Association notes that its methodology differs from the EPA’s AQI.

IQAir cites the following tips for unhealthy air quality days:

One person is dead and other is injured but in stable condition after a shooting at the Gus Garcia Recreation Center over the weekend.

At 12:43 a.m. on Feb. 15, Austin Police Department responded to a call about shots fired at the Gus Garcia Recreation Center at 1201 E. Rundberg Lane.

When officers arrived, they located 32-year-old Jamal Elijah with apparent gunshot wounds to his body. Life-saving attempts failed and Elijah was pronounced dead at 1:07 a.m. A second male victim was transported to a local hospital and is reportedly in stable condition.

Homicide detectives later obtained surveillance video that showed Elijah at the recreation center spending time with friends when they were “confronted by a suspect group who shot and killed Elijah.”

APD posted a 29-second surveillance footage clip to its YouTube channel, and it calls the individuals shown in the video “people of interest who the Austin Police Homicide unit are trying to identify,” according to the press release.

Anyone with information about the shooting should contact the Homicide Unit at 512-974-TIPS. You can also submit anonymous tips through the Capital Area Crime Stoppers program at 512-472-8477. The department is offering a $1,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest.

This case is being investigated as Austin’s ninth homicide of the year. The eighth homicide of the year occurred on Feb. 14. Police responded to a residence in South Austin to find two people dead in what was an apparent murder-suicide.

Although that investigation is also still ongoing, detectives believe Rios fatally stabbed Montgomery before taking his own life. Anyone with information about that case can contact APD at 512-974-TIPs or submit an anonymous tip through the Capital Area Crime Stoppers Program.