Austin teen, Merrick David Isaacks, is facing serious charges after police say he shot a cyclist at random in East Austin last week because he was trying to “blow off steam” after a physical altercation with his girlfriend. Isaacks used a shotgun in what police describe as a “drive by shooting.”
A “witness” told police that on June 7, Isaacks, 19, threatened him with a shotgun, saying he would shoot him and Isaacks’ girlfriend if the witness didn’t drive him around to “blow off steam” after Isaacks had allegedly assaulted his girlfriend.
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The witness, who was actually the person driving Isaacks around during the crime, says he’s only known him for about four months. He claims he and Isaacks left from an apartment complex off Wickersham and E. Riverside Dr. The witness says that as they approached the Montopolis/Riverside intersection, Isaacks told him to stop because he wanted to “shoot or kill someone standing at the bus stop.” According to an affidavit, the witness told Isaack “no” in an effort to prevent him from shooting, saying there were cameras in the traffic signals.
The witness says they drove on, passing a Shell station about 250 feet down the road when they saw a bicycle travelling in the same direction. The witness says Isaacks fired the shotgun once out of the passenger side window, not saying anything.
Police say the cyclist was found around 11:52 p.m. on June 7 after a call for a possible gunshot wound. He was transported to Dell Seton Medical Center, where doctors say the victim had pellets from a shotgun blast in his brain stem.
Officers on the scene also found wadding consistent with that of a shotgun in the street near where the victim’s bike was found.
Isaacks is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a 2nd degree felony. His bond is set at $100,000.