Abel Elias Acosta Update as Police Hunt 14-Year-Old Accused of Three Murders

Texas police officers have increased the reward for the apprehension of 14-year-old Abel Elias Acosta, who is a suspect in a shooting.

The police believe Acosta may be responsible for carrying out a shooting at a convenience store in Garland at around 7:30 p.m. on December 26.

Three teenagers were killed in the shooting. Another person was also injured in the incident.

According to a report by Focus Daily News, the identities of the teenagers are Xavier Gonzalez, 14, Ivan Noyola, 16 and Rafael Garcia, 17.

The Garland Police department posted a tweet on Thursday indicating that the owner of the KPIR radio station has increased a reward for information leading to an arrest to $10,000.

While sharing a picture of Acosta they captioned the tweet: "$10,000 reward offered for the apprehension of Abel Elias Acosta.

"In addition to the Garland Crimestoppers $5,000 reward, Jerry Reynolds, KPIR Radio owner has offered an additional $5,000.

"Anyone with information leading to Acosta's apprehension is encouraged to call 9-1-1 immediately."

Newsweek has contacted the Garland Police Department for comment.

Newsweek previously reported that police had issued a directive for officers to arrest Acosta when he was located. The police believe he is "actively evading capture" and they would need help from the public to bring him into custody.

Explaining the shooting, police said that all four of the victims were shot inside the convenience store.

Police have obtained surveillance footage showing a male exiting a white Dodge four-door pickup truck outside, open the doors of the store and begin firing a weapon inside.

During a news conference on Monday, Police Chief Jeff Bryan addressed the severity of the crime.

At the time Garland Police had taken another 14-year-old into custody on Monday 27 December. They have not been publicly named but they were identified as a person of interest in the case on Wednesday.

He said: "The gun used in this incident was a 40 caliber pistol, it had an extended magazine.

"We know he fired at least 20 rounds because we found the shell casings."

He continued: "This investigation is difficult for us, it is difficult for me, it is difficult for our officers, it is difficult for our community.

"Because we want to know why, we don't have an answer why, we are trying to comprehend this and we don't yet. But we do have a job to do.

"There are two things we are trying to accomplish right now. The first thing is we are trying to complete an accurate and thorough investigation and arrest, we owe that to the families.

"The second thing we are trying to do is support the families, a day after Christmas they have lost their loved ones.

"I have been meeting with the families and whatever we can do as a community to come together to support them, that is the end of my statement."