On the evening of September 30, 2024, 16-year-old Ahsun Madison was shot and killed at the Pathways at Northgate Apartments, 9120 Northgate Boulevard in North Austin. Austin Police officers found Madison at about 8:20 p.m.; emergency personnel pronounced him dead at 9:01 p.m. Investigators say Madison had gone to the complex to confront someone who had been bullying him for years, possibly because of his sexuality.

Police identified a 16-year-old male suspect who fled the scene but was later located and arrested by APD’s Gang Suppression Unit. The suspect, not named because he is a juvenile, was out on bond for prior offenses, had been present at a January 2024 homicide though not identified as the shooter, and is reported to have been involved in multiple shootings earlier in the year. He was charged with first-degree murder and booked into the Gardner-Betts Juvenile Justice Center. Detective Nicholas Gebhart described an unusually high amount of violent crime involving juveniles in North Austin.

Madison’s parents described him as free-spirited, interested in the arts and in the process of self-discovery. The community and the family are asking for justice and a review of how juvenile violent offenders are handled. If anyone has information about the shooting or knew Ahsun, please come forward.