Gabriel Brown, Austin’s neighbor, claimed at round midnight, he by accident fired his gun whereas modifying it and speaking on the telephone together with his father. He turned himself in however wasn’t arrested.
SAN MARCOS, Texas – A household is preventing for a Hays County choose to evaluation the sentencing for the person who killed their son. Texas State pupil Austin Salyer was negligently shot by his neighbor by means of a wall.
Austin Salyer was a junior at Texas State College. He was finding out felony justice and army science. He had simply signed a contract with the Military in September 2021.
“Austin texted me at 8:53 p.m. and stated, ‘I will mattress,’ , ‘good night time, candy desires. I like you.’ And I stated, ‘okay, I like you too.’ After which I waited about three minutes and I stated, ‘maintain making us proud’ and that was the final textual content I bought from him,” Bonnie Salyer, Austin’s mother, stated.
His mother stated he was speculated to be up at 4:30 a.m. the subsequent morning for his first street march together with his new platoon. At round 6 a.m., Bonnie checked Austin’s location.
“I noticed that his telephone was nonetheless inside his residence, and I assumed, ‘oh my gosh, he overslept.’ And so I began calling him, I began pinging him,” Bonnie Salyer stated.
An hour and a half later, she nonetheless hadn’t heard from him.
Texas State pupil Austin Salyer was negligently shot by his neighbor by means of a wall. He had simply signed a contract with the Military in September 2021.
“I assumed perhaps he simply was in a rush, he left his telephone, which I knew in my coronary heart that wasn’t true as a result of no one leaves their telephone behind, proper, it is turn into a part of our, actually a part of our our bodies. And so about 7:30 I sort of began to panic, panic began to set in,” Bonnie Salyer stated.
At round 11:15 a.m., Bonnie texted considered one of Austin’s mates.
“I can not come up with Austin, and I would wish to know for those who can please go knock on his door, see for those who can wake him up. He was all on it. He was like, oh, yeah, I will go scare him,” Bonnie Salyer stated.
As a substitute, the pal noticed Hearth and EMS on the fifth ground, the ground Austin Salyer stayed on.
“A police officer known as and stated, , what’s your son’s full title? What’s his date of delivery? After which he stated, I am sorry to let you know over the telephone, however we discovered your son deceased in his residence this morning,” Bonnie Salyer stated.
Austin was shot by means of the wall whereas he was mendacity in mattress.
Austin Salyer was a junior at Texas State College. He was finding out felony justice and army science.
“It simply terrifies us to assume how lengthy he might need laid their struggling together with his neighbor subsequent door and never getting any assist for him,” Rodney Salyer, Austin’s father, stated.
Gabriel Brown, Austin’s neighbor, claimed at round midnight, he by accident fired his gun whereas modifying it and speaking on the telephone together with his father. He turned himself in however wasn’t arrested. Brown was indicted on criminally negligent murder. His bond was set at $3,000.
“As a sufferer, you are so handcuffed and deprived in comparison with what the felony has accessible to them for loopholes. They get to regulate issues, they get to rent no matter, protection lawyer they need, whereas the sufferer is caught with no matter choose, no matter prosecutor, no matter. You haven’t any management over that in any respect. They do not have to supply any data again to you, however something you present must be offered to them. It’s so lopsided towards the sufferer to have the ability to get any sort of justice,” Rodney Salyer stated.
The Salyers weren’t proud of the fees being introduced.
“Every little thing will get diluted. It’s important to begin up right here simply so by the point all the pieces’s diluted, there’s some type of punishment. In our case, they’re beginning down on the backside. They’re actually beginning on the lowest felony that they may probably begin with,” Rodney Salyer stated.
Brown pleaded responsible to felony negligent murder. He was initially sentenced to 180 days in jail, and he’d report back to jail for 18 days throughout Austin’s birthday and one other 18 days on the date of the capturing for 5 years. Not even a month later, the sentence was modified to 90 days.
Gabriel Brown, Austin’s neighbor, claimed at round midnight, he by accident fired his gun whereas modifying it. He turned himself in, however wasn’t arrested. Brown was indicted on criminally negligent murder.
“We have been like, how can that be? We weren’t concerned, no one’s informed us something about this. Properly, the change to 90 days is that this, the doc was appropriately typed up with 18 days. Somebody scratched it out and wrote in 9. No, no initials. No, nothing,” Rodney Salyer stated. “If we did not observe up with him, it will have simply gone behind the scenes.”
The Salyers stated they requested for a listening to to evaluation the sentencing change, however it was denied.
Whereas Brown spends 90 days in jail, the Salyers are left with simply recollections.
This story is part of the KXAN Data Hub, where numbers help tell the whole story.
We’ve created several data-driven stories and databases on topics including weather and climate, politics, education, sports and growth in Texas. Each story in the KXAN Data Hub is updated as new data becomes available.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — KXAN is keeping track of the number of homicides in Austin.
As of Jan. 9, two homicides have been reported thus far in 2025.
Last year, 70 homicides were reported, down from 75 in 2023 and 71 in 2022. A record 88 homicides were reported in 2021.
The charts below will be updated as we learn new information. Scroll down for a map of where each homicide occurred.
The chart below shows how the number of homicides reported in recent years changed through the year.
Below is a map showing where homicides occurred in 2025. The map is interactive, so clicking on or hovering over a dot will reveal information about that incident. You can also click on a month in the top left to show only homicides that occurred during that month.
The chart below shows the number of homicides reported each month in 2025.
AUSTIN, Texas — The University of Texas at Austin has appointed Andrew (Andy) Maas as the new assistant vice president for technology transfer on the Discovery to Impact team, which works with world-class inventors, investors, creators and entrepreneurs to launch startups and collaborates with established businesses to accelerate new products, services, solutions and cures.
In this role, Maas will lead the University’s research commercialization and innovation initiatives and oversee the protection and commercialization of UT’s intellectual property. Reporting to Mark Arnold, associate vice president of Discovery to Impact and managing director of Texas Startups, Maas will ensure that the University’s innovations transition effectively from academic research to market applications that benefit society.
“Andy is nationally recognized for his expertise in technology licensing and commercialization, and we are pleased to welcome a leader of his caliber to the team,” Arnold said. “We have an ambitious agenda for Discovery to Impact this year — to invest early and strategically in faculty ideas and inventions that will change the world — and there is no doubt that Andy is the right person to help lead the charge.”
Maas joins UT from Louisiana State University, where he most recently served as associate vice president for research, overseeing the office of Innovation and Ecosystem Development.
Maas holds a B.S. from Brigham Young University, an M.S. from UT Austin, and a J.D. and LLM from The University of Akron.
During his career, Maas has built an engineering startup, led within the university and research foundation settings, and currently serves as the board chair of the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) – the non-profit leader in supporting professionals in the technology commercialization and research innovation space. In addition, he was the principal investigator on a $160 million National Science Foundation Engine award focused on the Future Use of Energy in Louisiana (FUEL). Maas has lectured all over the world about intellectual property valuation, economic impact, technology licensing and technology commercialization.
“This is a homecoming for me in many ways, and it’s a privilege and pleasure to be back on the Forty Acres,” Maas remarked. “Discovery to Impact is one of the premier research commercializing programs in the country, and I look forward to working alongside Mark and the team to propel our groundbreaking faculty ideas forward.”
TxDOT is working around the clock treating roadways as temperatures plummet in the Austin area.
AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas Department of Transportation is working around the clock treating roadways as temperatures plummet in the Austin area.
The agency is also offering assistance at no cost to stranded drivers through its “HERO program.”
“Our crews have been out there laying saltwater mixture, which is known as brine, and also a granular substance. That’s a magnesium chloride,” says TxDOT spokesperson Antonio Lujan.
TxDOT says employees are placing the brine on major highways in Austin and in surrounding areas.
“This includes I-35, SH 71, U.S. 183, 290 East going towards Manor and then towards Dripping Springs. Some of those smaller rural roads may not have brine or that granular substance in them,” says Lujan.
Central Texans have been busy preparing for Thursday’s cold weather and possible ice, especially in the Hill Country.
Temperatures reached below 40 degrees in Central Texas on Wednesday. Austin Mayor Kirk Watson addressed the public in a press conference on weather conditions and how the city is working to keep residents safe in their homes and on the streets.
“Keeping roads safe, keeping them as safe as possible, and continuing and continuing to deliver the critical services that our community depends on,” said Mayor Watson.
TxDOT says this means staying off the roads.
“Just because they’re drivable and treated does not mean passable. Because remember that depending on how low the temperatures do get, there might be some instances where you might have some ice accumulation,” says Lujan.
In the case a driver needs assistance on the roadways, TxDOT’S HERO program does offer several services in the Austin area.
“If you are broken down on the side of the road, we can help you out by changing your tire, jump-starting your car, pushing you off the road, getting you some gas. Our emergency first responders cover for them so they can do their job,” said a HERO PM Lead Operator.
“They’re out there monitoring our roads as we speak. They’re going to be out there working longer hours during the next couple of days to ensure that we are helping anyone who’s out there stranded. And the good thing about hero is that it’s at no cost,” Lujan
TxDOT says they plan to work around the clock until weather conditions return to normal.
For the HERO program or assistance, you can dial 512-974-HERO.
The Source: Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin’s Tan Radford
These are the top 7 issues facing the struggling restaurant industry in 2025
The 25 worst losses in college football history, including Baylor’s 2024 entry at Colorado
The top out-of-contract players available as free transfers: Kimmich, De Bruyne, Van Dijk…
New Orleans attacker had 'remote detonator' for explosives in French Quarter, Biden says
Carter's judicial picks reshaped the federal bench across the country
Who Are the Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom?
Ozempic ‘microdosing’ is the new weight-loss trend: Should you try it?
Ivory Coast says French troops to leave country after decades
