Woman Shoots Dead Neighbor in Argument Over Bounce House Theft

An altercation allegedly stemming over the theft of a bounce house resulted in one man dead and his neighbor fleeing the scene.

Austin Police said the shooting occurred at approximately 8 a.m. on November 1 at the 8400 block of Garcreek Circle.

A witness described to cops how an altercation had developed between James Traylor, 52, and a female neighbor, later identified as Nora Lopez, 30, over the alleged theft of the bouncy children's toy.

The police wrote in a statement: "The argument ended with a female neighbor shooting Traylor several times and then fled the scene."

A first-degree murder warrant was then issued for Lopez.

A local man identified only as Henry told local media site WFLA such incidents were all-too-common in the neighborhood, adding: "I'm ready to go."

Another anonymous local said children were close to the scene during the shooting, adding: "I don't want them around gunshots, none of that."

"I don't want to see the world like this, I don't want to see people keep dying. They're doing things with guns that they can't change. It's going to live with them for the rest of their life."

Austin Police has been contacted by Newsweek for an update on the incident. This story will be updated with any response received.

An update issued by the City Of Austin Police revealed that Lopez subsequently turned herself in on November 5.

Detectives are still requesting that anyone who has information or video of the incident contact Austin Police Department Homicide.

The state of Texas has a higher than average mortality rate triggered by firearms, with the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data suggesting gun deaths in the state were responsible for approximately 9 percent (3,513) of all of America's firearms deaths in 2017.

Texas police announced late last month roughly "a couple of hundred people" were present during a Halloween party shooting that left a 20-year-old man dead and nine people wounded.

This coincided with news of a woman's death in Fort Worth after police responded to a car crash and found the victim shot dead.

Less than two weeks prior to her death, the 22-year-old victim had uploaded a video showing a tracking device she found attached to her car to social media platform Instagram.

And also last week, a robbery suspect is believed to have accidentally left his wallet at the scene of a fatal shooting in Houston, where the victim had also been robbed.