BEAUMONT, Texas — Beaumont Police say their new Real-Time Crime Center was instrumental in the arrest of a 32-year-old Southeast Texas man charged with shooting at multiple people and vehicles in a gas station parking lot in north Beaumont early Sunday morning.
Brian Murphy, 32, was arrested by Beaumont Police officers after they were sent to a shots fired call at the SNS Grocery, a Shell gas station at 3145 Concord Rd, just after 2:30 a.m. Sunday, August 11, 2024, according to a news release from police.
As they pulled up, officers spotted Murphy driving away in a Ford F-150 pickup and were able to pull him over as he left the parking lot, police said.
Police say they found two guns with extended magazines and narcotics in the pickup driven by Murphy and arrested some others who were in the truck with him.
Murphy was charged with deadly conduct and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Surveillance cameras caught the shooting as Murphy allegedly fired at people and vehicles in the crowded parking lot. More than 20 people could be seen in the video when the shots were fired.
People in the parking lot can be seen running away, ducking and trying to hide.
A patrol sergeant was able to utilize the department's Real-Time Crime Center to provide officers with real-time updates on the scene and "significantly contributed to the successful apprehension of Murphy and the additional occupants of the vehicle," police said.
The shooting was seen on surveillance cameras via "FUSUS software."
While no witnesses or victims were left in the parking lot when officers arrived they could clearly be seen in the surveillance video with some narrowly escaping the gunfire, according to police.
Although police have charged Murphy they say that cooperation from witnesses is key to advancing their investigation.
Detectives ask that anyone who was at the Shell gas station when the shooting happened to contact them and cooperate in the investigation.
The gas station parking lot has been identified by police as an "area of concern during after hours" when people gather in the parking lot after nearby clubs and bars close for the night.
"There was a lot of crime and it took too long to catch the criminals. But right now, after the Real-Time Crime Center, they catch the people right away," said SNS Grocery building owner Danushka Kumarage.
A Beaumont man was fatally shot in the parking lot just in August 2023 and a man was brutally beaten there in October 2023. There have also been multiple reports of shots being fired in the parking lot.
Management of the business and police have been working to stem the issues, according to police.
The business was one of the first to integrate its surveillance cameras with the police department's new Real-Time Crime Center. It's a move that's given Kumarage and his employees a new sense of security.
"The police, it's really easy to get them, and to us it feels really safe because they come right away. They can see what's going on and they react right away," Kumarage said.
Thanks to the Real-time Crime Center, BPD were able to see everything that happened in real-time.
"In this particular case, as soon as that 911 call came in, a patrol sergeant was able to pull up the cameras at that location and immediately have eyes on what was going on there," said BPD Public Information Officer Haley Morrow.
She says the quick response and picture quality was enough to nab Murphy just moments later.
"That was a perfect example of how the Real-Time Crime Center technology is a game changer for law enforcement. We are absolutely changing the game with law enforcement response," Morrow said.
The department is now calling on other Beaumont businesses to integrate their cameras.
"We want the message to criminals to be that it's going to be a lot harder for you to commit a crime, because as this technology grows and there's more coverage, you're not going to be able to get away with crime for very much longer," said Morrow.
This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.
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