 "Photo: Shaun Stewart")
A UT student was shot in his West Campus apartment Monday afternoon. He died in Brackenridge Hospital at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday.
The Austin Police Department stated that mathematics senior William "Trey" Ehrhardt III, 22, called 911 Monday at 5:26 p.m. to report an attempted break-in at his residence, stating that the assailants had apparently fled. A second call, made by a neighbor at 5:35 p.m. and received as officers arrived at the residence, reported shattering glass and a gunshot.
Government senior and upstairs neighbor Brady Ford said he heard a "big crash of glass and a gunshot." Ford did not exit his apartment, because he said loud noises like that are common in the area. He said someone tried to break into his apartment once before.
Witnesses told police they saw two males in their early 20s running westbound from The Carrells, Ehrhardt's apartment complex at 28th and Nueces streets.
Officers arrived at the scene and found Ehrhardt, apparently suffering from a gunshot wound, in the kitchen area. Erik Morales, the victim's friend and undeclared freshman, said he visited Ehrhardt in the hospital and that Ehrhardt had suffered a gunshot wound to the back of his head. APD Sgt. Hector Reveles said that he had no comment and the Medical Examiner's Office could not be reached.
The shooting was surprising, because it occurred at a time of the day when there was a lot of activity in the area, said Reveles. He added that the suspects made a lot of noise and "took a lot of risks in getting caught."
Reveles said that there were no signs of struggle and that the shooting occurred quickly after the break-in, perhaps within a minute.
Police do not know if anything was stolen or the possible motive for the crime. Reveles said it appears that Ehrhardt was simply minding his own business. However, Reveles added, he was an intended target.
"Someone had a motive to do this," he said.
APD had information that Ehrhardt had been involved in a confrontation earlier in the week, but Reveles said there was no connection between the two incidents.
UT theater and dance senior Courtney Ehrhardt remembers her cousin Trey, as he was known by his friends and family, as a very loving person who was close to his family. Since Trey shares the same name as his father and grandfather, he was trying to gather all three generations for a family photo, Courtney said.
Ehrhardt was a member of the Zeta Psi fraternity and was once the rush captain and pledge trainer, Morales said. He was also a Camp Texas counselor from 2003 to 2004.
"There's no reason why something like this should happen," Morales said.
Morales recalled some of his favorite memories with Ehrhardt, such as double dates gone awry. Morales said if one had a bad date, Ehrhardt would always stick it out and make it through the night.
Paige Wheat, a marketing senior, said she had been friends with Ehrhardt since they were freshmen living in the San Jacinto dormitory.
"He was one of the funniest people I've ever known," Wheat said. "He had a way of making anyone he spoke with feel comfortable."
According to Ehrhardt's Web site made for a computer science class, he wrote that he "successfully consumed 42 Laffy Taffy's in 12 minutes."
At the West Campus complex, police taped the area off and boarded up the window of the second-level apartment. Ehrhardt's apartment was in the middle of the complex. The management of the complex would not comment.
In front of Ehrhardt's apartment door, shards of glass remained under the window and spots of blood lined the hallway and back stairs of the complex Tuesday afternoon.
Resting on his Longhorn welcome mat was an orange-red rose left by Ehrhardt's friend, Paige. A note attached said, "I love you Trey. You will be in my thoughts and my dreams forever."
Violent crime rates escalating in student-saturated areas By Yashoda Sampath Daily Texan Staff
Statistics gathered by local police show that crimes committed on and near campus have increased across the board.
Recently, two violent deaths have occurred near or in heavily student-populated areas. Former UT student Colton Pitonyak was arrested in August for the brutal death of 21-year-old Jennifer Cave, which occurred at the Orange Tree condominiums at 25th and Rio Grande streets.
A second student died Tuesday morning after he was attacked during a burglary in his West Campus apartment, according to the Austin Police Department. Additionally, five students were attacked in a Riverside apartment complex popular with students in October.
"It is unusual. The past couple of months have definitely been unusual for University students," said University public safety spokeswoman Rhonda Weldon.
According to data gathered by the UT Police Department in 2004, three murders have occurred between 1989 and July 2004 on University-owned property.
According to APD, there have been five murders in the 78705 ZIP code since August 2004. This number does not include last night's shooting. UTPD and APD separately report their statistics.
"There has been a definite increase in violent crime," said Mark Limon, a district representative for the downtown area command of the Austin Police Department, which includes West Campus. "I wish I could say why our numbers are up and what's causing it."
Car theft and criminal mischief in general has increased, Limon said. "We think it's just a bunch of kids going out hitting small pockets of town," he said.
When asked to point out other recent upticks in crime, Limon referred to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He said there was an increase in criminal mischief and theft. However, most of the new crime was inflicted upon the evacuees, not the other way around.
"There were a bunch of assaults, a lot of people were preying on the New Orleaners," Limon said.
Limon said Danny Santos, an APD crime-trend analyst, will study the problem further. Santos could not be reached for comment.
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