FREDERICKSBURG, Texas — Editor's note: Late Tuesday night, Fredericksburg police said they arrested 21-year-old Awes Singko Rapet in this murder. Police say he is facing capital murder charges. More details here.
See previous story below:
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Captured by the all-seeing eye of a surveillance camera, the customer turned murder suspect dodders into the Fredericksburg Kwikchek and drops a duffel bag near the front door.
As the dark bag sinks to the floor, the man's head and face are covered by a black hoodie and he is wearing gloves, faded and tattered jeans and dark colored shoes.
For a full four seconds, the man can be seen limping across the store. Police say he spent a few minutes at the back of the store, near the restrooms, and then the mysterious man returned to shoot an innocent customer to death while his features were hidden by a skull mask.
After firing two shots, police said the man demanded the store's cashier turn over the contents of the register.
Investigators said they don't know what caliber of gun was used because the suspect paused to pick up his spent shell casings before leaving the store.
"First of all I would like to express our condolences and heartfelt sadness for the family of the victim that was murdered in the robbery that occurred. The department shares in the community's outrage for this type of crime occurring in our town," said Fredericksburg Police Lt. Derek Seelig.
Police have identified the victim as 48-year-old Arthur Cortez.
Amanda Isbell said she is a long-time friend of Cortez and considers him as close as a blood relative.
"Heaven gained a great angel," reflecting on surviving hard times, in a social media post about her friend, Isbell wrote. "You always have a home now in heaven. Never again will you have to worry about being homeless or hungry. You gained your angel wings so fly high homeboy."
Thomas Cardenas works at EZ PZ Pizza, next door to the murder scene, and said people are shocked and angry about the unprovoked attack.
"If you're going to rob somebody? Okay fine! I disagree with it, but you don't need to kill somebody over it. That's the part I can't get over," Cardenas said.
Cardenas, who said he has been robbed many times in a long career in retail, recognized the images of the suspect, having seen him in the area numerous times.
"I've seen him come and go in this area. I've seen his jacket. I've seen his backpack. I've seen the way he walks with his head down. I've been robbed multiple times and that's one of the signs, you know 'let's not look at anybody and just keep it down.'" Cardenas said.
Cardenas said he hopes everyone in the area near the store will carefully review surveillance video, not just for the time of the crime, but for recent days.
"They may say they did see this person. 'I saw his coat. I saw his face. Let's go get the SOB," Cardenas said.
Having lived and worked in bigger communities, Cardenas said he hopes the tight knit community will be able to solve this crime.
"I really hope everybody pulls together and really gets in there. Everybody knows what they know and now the police know and they're going to get him," Cardenas said. "Bide your time sir! We will get you!"
Seelig said the suspect they are looking for is about 5'8" and stocky, with a small bit of facial hair.
They hope anyone who sees the video of the crime will be able to add to their database of clues about the crime that was reported just a few minutes before midnight on Tuesday.
Seelig said they are grateful for the way the community is responding.
"We have had an outpouring of communication from the public. Numerous leads. Whether it's social media, by telephone, Crime Stoppers tips, they continue to come in and we urge the community to continue providing those tips as all this information is essential to identifying who did this heinous crime," Seelig said.
Seelig said because the man was on foot, they are hoping that more images of him were captured by nearby cameras.
In addition to community assistance, Seelig said he's grateful to all the neighboring law enforcement agencies that showed up to help.
Among those who answered the call to assist are the Texas Rangers, the Gillespie County Sheriff's Office, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Kerrville PD and Llano County provided K9 units to track the individual.
Seelig said at this time, a designated reward fund has not been established but the murder is eligible for inclusion in the Crime Stoppers program, which would provide funds for clues that lead to an arrest.
The number for Gillespie County Crime Stoppers is 830-997-8477.
Detectives with the Fredericksburg Police Department can be reached by dialing 830-997-7585.
Funeral arrangements for the victim are pending.