GEORGETOWN, Texas -- Authorities Monday filed capital murder charges against a 17-year-old boy who admitted fatally shooting two neighborhood children he reportedly selected at random.
Capt. Richard Elliott of the Williamson County Sheriff's Department said George Luis Vasquez was held without bond on a charge of capital murder.
Authorities in Georgetown, about 30 miles north of Austin, said Vasquez confessed to shooting Casey Shoecraft, 12; and her brother, Christopher, 8. Both were shot in the back of the head in their home at about 11 a.m. Sunday.
Casey Shoecraft was pronounced dead at the scene. The boy died at about 5:45 p.m. Sunday at Brackenridge Hospital in Austin.
'It was a random thing,' said Williamson County Sheriff Jim Boutwell. 'He said he just went eeny-meeny-miney-mo and picked a house. '
Boutwell said the children's mother was in the house at the time but was not injured.
Vasquez was arrested two hours after the slayings about 2 miles away and confessed to the crime. He later helped authorities search for the gun, which he threw away after the shootings.
Elliott said investigators have not established a motive for the slayings.
Neigbors said Vasquez kept to himself and was not often seen around the neigborhood. He worked at a local grocery store as a checkout clerk until two weeks ago.
Ed Solis, the store manager, said Vasquez 'was just a laid-back person' but he would not say why Vasquez left the job.
Elliott said prosecutors have not decided whether to seek the death penalty for Vasquez. Capital murder charges are allowed under Texas law when more than one person is killed.
