A 19-year-old has been charged with capital murder in the shooting deaths of two Jarrell High School football players in January at a hookah lounge in Northwest Austin that was filled with at least 100 people at the time, police said.
Law enforcement authorities arrested Christijan Stevens on Wednesday in Bell County, according to an Austin police news release. Stevens is the suspect in the deaths of 17-year-old Brayden Bolyard and 18-year-old Jaitron Tatum.
Bolyard died at the scene on Jan. 28 at the Moon Palace Hookah Lounge at 12636 Research Blvd., and Tatum died from his gunshot wounds four days later at a hospital. A male and two female victims were injured in the shooting and taken to local hospitals, officials have said.
Stevens went to Killeen High School when Jai-Tron Tatum was a student there, said Nick Spinetto, a spokesman for the Jarrell School District. Tatum became a student at Jarrell High School within the past year, Spinetto said.
![](https://asset.us.mistertruth.com/2023/03/892fb21fabf6ecba7f3faba09e53081c-310x220.jpg)
The hookah lounge was hosting a private party on the night on the shootings, according to an arrest affidavit. There were at least 100 people inside the venue, including multiple students from Austin-area high schools, it said.
It said many witnesses told police that a man, later identified as Stevens, was standing on the stage in front of the DJ and pointing a pistol at the crowd. Stevens was wearing a “distinctive” multicolored hoodie with a hood in the shape of a sun or a star, the affidavit said. It said Stevens shoot multiple times at the crowd and people started leaving.
Police responded to the shooting at 10:19 p.m. Jan. 28.
Footage from one security camera showed Stevens standing on the stage before he stepped out of view of the camera, the affidavit said. “Moments later everyone inside is either ducking down or running for the front door,” according to the document. “The occupants exited away from the shooter in a ripple like pattern, similar to the ripples created by an object dropped in water.” Stevens was shown on the video standing in the center of the people exiting, the affidavit said.
A second security camera showed Stevens shooting at a specific man, later identified as Tatum, who was moving away from him, police said. Stevens fired multiple shots toward Tatum, the affidavit said. It said other victims were standing near Tatum.
One witness told police that he saw Stevens fire multiple times into the back of another male who on the stage, the document said. The witness said he saw Stevens then fire multiple times before running out of the lounge behind other people who were leaving, police said.
As the witness was running away, he said, he had to step over the pistol that Stevens used, according to the affidavit.
It said the witness then told police that, before the shooting, Stevens spoke to him about the witness’s music, the affidavit said. The witness asked Stevens to follow him on Instagram, which Stevens did, police said.
The profile name linked to the follow was identified as “bwchris,” the affidavit said. It said the Lone StarFugitive Task Force discovered that the profile belonged to Stevens. Killeen police recognized the man in the profile as Stevens, according to the affidavit.
No motive for the shooting was included in the arrest affidavit. Police declined to provide further details. Stevens was being held Tuesday at the Bell County Jail with bail set at $4.5 million, according to a county website.
Anyone with any information on the case is asked to contact the Austin Police Department at 512-974-TIPS. You can submit your tip anonymously through the Capital Area Crime Stoppers by visiting austincrimestoppers.org or by calling 512-472-8477.