Police investigate fatal Montpelier shooting

Police are seeking one or more suspects in a shooting in Montpelier early Sunday that left one man dead.

Markus Austin, 33, was shot at least once outside the apartment building where he lived with his girlfriend, according to Maj. Glenn Hall of the Vermont State Police.

Police do not have a suspect in custody. Early indications suggest a male suspect fled in a vehicle, Hall said.

Hall said investigators have some information about potential suspects and that it is possible multiple people were involved. However, he said, he was not ready to release any further information about suspects yet.

“The initial investigation so far leads us to believe that this wasn’t a random act,” Hall said.

Police are looking to speak with any witnesses or anybody who may have had contact with Austin or anybody else involved in the situation, he said.

“We’re certainly looking at events that may be related from last night leading up to the shooting,” Hall said Sunday.

Montpelier police responded to a call about a shooting in a parking lot at 191 Barre St. shortly after 4:30 a.m. Sunday, according to Police Chief Tony Facos. The municipal police force called in the Vermont State Police major crimes unit.

Mid-morning Sunday, neighbors lingered on the sidewalk on Barre Street near where police tape blocked off the entrance to the building’s parking lot. Most said they first heard about the shooting over social media or in texts from friends.

From a bike path that runs behind the apartment building, passersby could see a black Hyundai sedan with the driver’s door ajar. Police from Montpelier and Northfield guarded the scene as they waited for state police investigators to arrive.

One neighbor said most police action in the area tends to involve traffic violations or responding to a very occasional fight.

“Never anything quite like this,” she said.

According to Facos, the last shooting in the city was in the fall of 2011.

Washington County State’s Attorney Scott Williams said his office is involved in an advisory capacity as the case develops.

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