Police hunt for ‘armed and dangerous’ 14-year-old suspected of triple murder

Details of juvenile suspect realeased in light of ‘potential risk to the public’

Abel Elias Acosta, 14 (Garland Police Department )

An “armed and dangerous” 14-year-old male is on the run from Texas authorities after he allegedly carried out the fatal shooting of three Latino teenagers at a convenience store in a Dallas suburb.

The Garland Police Department (GPD) said in an announcement on Wednesday that Abel Elias Acosta had been identified as the shooting suspect behind the three deaths on Sunday.

Three Latino teenagers, aged 14 to 17, were killed in the incident at a convenience store in Garland County, the GPD said. A 15-year-old boy was also injured.

Although the suspect has so far evaded authorities, his father Richard Acosta turned himself in on Monday, the GPD said. As NBC News reported, he is suspected of having transported his son to and from the shooting.

Detectives believe Acosta is evading and hiding from authorities, and asked for members of the public to assist in its search. The 14-year-old was also described as “armed and dangerous”.

Abel Elias Acosta, 14 (Garland Police Department)

“It is typically not the practice of the Garland Police Department to release juvenile information,” the department said on Wednesday, “but due to the nature of the offense and potential risk to the public, the court has authorised the release of his information.”

If found and convicted, he faces “the charge of Capital Murder for the shooting death of the three teenagers,” it was said. Such a sentence could lead to life imprisonment.

He was described as “as a light-skinned Hispanic male with dark hair, brown eyes, approximately 5’ 05” in height, and weighing around 125 pounds.”