Judge rules man accused of San Antonio-Austin shooting spree competent to stand trial

The man accused of killing six people and injuring two others during a shooting spree that began in San Antonio and ended in Austin two years ago could face the death penalty after a Travis County judge ruled Wednesday that he’s competent to stand trial, TV station Fox 7 Austin reports.

The ruling comes less than a week after the Austin-American-Statesman reported that a state mental hospital determined James was competent to stand trial.

However, that decision came a year after a Travis County judge signed an incompetency filing for James, citing mental health problems. Under that initial determination, the most severe sentence James could receive was life in prison.

James, 36, is facing charges of three counts of capital murder of multiple persons, one count of capital murder, two counts of attempted capital murder and one count of capital murder by terror threat. He’s also charged with three undetermined misdemeanors and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, the Statesman reports.

Authorities arrested James in Austin in December 2023 in the wake of a headline-grabbing shooting spree that police said began in the Alamo City. James killed his parents in Northeast San Antonio home before driving to Austin, according to court documents. While in the capital city, he killed an additional four people and injured two, including a school resource officer and a cyclist, according to charges against him.

James was a graduate of St. Mary’s University in San Antonio before he enlisted in the Army, joining the 1st Cavalry Division.

“When he came back, he was all fucked up,” Coco Williams, who lived near James’ parents house, told the Current in late 2023. “I mean, he had seen too much.”

James had a history of mental illness, police previously said. An arrest warrant from Bexar County also said he suffered from schizophrenia, according to Fox 7 Austin.

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This article appears in Jun 26 – Jul 9, 2025.