AUSTIN (KXAN) – On Jan. 8, homicide detectives with the Austin Police Department began investigating the shooting death of a 21-year-old man in the parking lot of a north Austin apartment complex, which police believed to be a random act of violence. Nearly 3 months later, APD’s investigation led to the arrest of the person who allegedly committed the murder. The person APD arrested was only 13 years old. Since this arrest, five additional juveniles have been arrested and accused of being involved in homicides in Austin and Travis County this year. KXAN analyzed various crime data specific to juveniles in Travis County to learn more about whether there's a recent trend in Central Texas of younger people being accused of certain types of violent crimes. “It’s very sad when a child as young as 13 is accused of a terrible crime. Because the question becomes, how did this child get in a situation in which they’re making the kinds of decisions that result in life or death for the community?” said Claire Carter, an attorney with Claire Carter Legal Services, who KXAN interviewed in April after the teen's arrest. According to an APD news release about the 13-year-old's arrest, police executed a “residential search warrant” and found multiple extended-capacity pistol magazines linked to the murder weapon in the Jan. 8 case as well as “several other shootings.” One of those other cases was a December 2023 drive-by shooting at a north Austin convenience that had nine victims — ranging from 4 to 15 years old — who were inside, according to APD. The 13-year-old juvenile was arrested and charged with murder, as well as five counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. APD said a second juvenile was also arrested in connection with the drive-by shooting. DATA: Juvenile violent offense arrests in Travis County Each year from 2019 to 2023, there wasn't more than one arrest of a juvenile aged 13-14 in Travis County on a homicide charge, according to data from the Texas Department of Public Safety Uniform Crime Reporting, or UCR, system. Thus far in 2024, the UCR data shows three of the six juveniles facing homicide charges in Travis County were 13-14 years old. Jan. 8: Francisco Muntufa, 21, died shortly after being shot in the parking lot of a north Austin apartment complex. Witnesses told officers they saw multiple suspects running from the scene. A 13-year-old is arrested and charged with murder. Aug. 22: Jeremiah Cavazos, 13, was found shot to death in east Austin after a "shootout" with two other juveniles. Two juveniles were arrested. One was charged with capital murder and the second was charged with first-degree murder. Sept. 30: Ashun Madison, 16, was found shot to death in north Austin. A 16-year-old boy was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. At the time of the murder, the 16-year-old was out on bond after facing charges related to prior shootings, according to APD. Oct. 17: Darrell Keith Davis, 24, was shot during an arranged meet-up to sell an "AR pistol-style rifle," according to the Travis County Sheriff's Office. An 18-year-old and a juvenile suspect were arrested and charged with murder. Oct. 21: Za’Riyah Sheffield, 16, was shot to death in east Austin after "a verbal disturbance escalated into the suspect shooting and killing Sheffield and then running away," police said. A 16-year-old was arrested in connection to the death. In addition to an increase in younger teens being accused of homicides this year, juveniles aged 13-14 were arrested in Travis County more than any other age group among other types of offenses where there was a victim of violence, a weapon was used or a there was a victim in the course of a robbery. Chart showing the breakdown of juvenile arrests by age and offense in Travis County thus far in 2024. Source: Texas Department of Public Safety's Uniform Crime Reporting system (KXAN Interactive/Dalton Huey) KXAN spoke with Melanie Soderstrom, an expert in the juvenile justice system and an assistant professor and pre-law advisor with the Texas State University School of Criminal Justice and Criminology about juvenile crime trends. Soderstrom explained one theory for why Travis County is seeing a rise in younger people being accused of assault-related offenses could be due to a new Texas law enacted in 2023 that requires an officer or armed guard be placed in all public schools, which for the first time included elementary schools. "Florida did something similar, and we saw an increase in referrals to police in schools, which of course lots of time will lead to formal arrests in students," Soderstrom stated. However, Soderstrom also acknowledged that her theory for why we may be seeing an increase in younger people committing violent crimes wouldn't typically apply to homicide or robbery-related offenses as those types of crimes don't usually occur in school settings. KXAN reached out to the Travis County District Attorney's Office, which oversees juvenile courts, and asked whether the cases being filed in the office show similar trends related to younger people being arrested on violent offenses and what its office is doing to work with juveniles in the community and schools to prevent further juvenile crime. KXAN will update this story once we receive a response. Statewide numbers in the Texas Juvenile Justice Department Alex Piquero, a criminologist and professor at the University of Miami, explained that crime in general across the country among both juveniles and adults for most offenses is at or below pre-pandemic levels and still remains much lower than the peaks of the early '90s. While this may be the case for most crimes in general across the country, according to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, there has been "a major shift in the profile of youth committed and admitted to TJJD." The shift in "youth committed to TJJD" specifically referred to juveniles in the system for homicides and crimes involving firearms. From 2018 to 2023, TJJD data shows homicide referrals doubled and firearms offenses increased by 50%. Charts showing the number of juvenile referrals sent to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department for homicides and for offenses involving firearms for each fiscal year from 2018 - 2023. Source: Texas Juvenile Justice Department. (KXAN Interactive/Dalton Huey) "In FY 2023 an unprecedented 8% (1 in 12) of admitted youth committed murder," according to TJJD. In response to the TJJD numbers specific to firearm-related offenses, Piquero stated "I think that the firearm issue is still a real problem for juveniles/young adults AND it is heightened by race/ethnic differences." KXAN spoke with Soderstrom about possible solutions to combat the "firearm issue" among juveniles. "Nationwide we are seeing some trends as to trying to pass more laws to address parental responsibility when it comes to child access to firearms," Soderstrom said. Soderstrom references recent school shootings in the U.S. where the parents were charged with crimes as well as the child, indicating the parents are now being held to a certain degree of responsibility for their children's acts and access to firearms. The law Soderstrom is referencing is the Child-Access Prevention & Safe Storage law, or CAP law, something that Texas implemented in 1999. According to the Texas Penal Code, "it is unlawful to store, transport, or abandon an unsecured firearm in a place where children are likely to be and can obtain access to the firearm." An offense under this law is Class A misdemeanor only if a child under the age of 17 discharges the firearm and causes death or serious bodily injury to himself or another person. According to RAND, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization, Texas is among the 37 states that have implemented CAP laws. However, whether the criminal offense is classified as a misdemeanor or felony varies by state. Due to strict juvenile confidentiality laws in Texas, it's often difficult, if not impossible, to obtain details surrounding crimes involving juveniles, how and where a firearm was obtained and the outcome of criminal cases brought against them.