Fatal Shooting at Austin Budget Inn

Austin police said a shooting at the Budget Inn on North Interstate 35 on May 8 became a homicide after the victim died nearly a week later. Officers responded at 7:32 p.m. to the motel at 9106 North IH 35 southbound after a caller reported that a person had been shot at the front desk, according to the Austin Police Department. Police said officers found Se Hun Park unresponsive with a gunshot wound to the chest. Park, who was born Sept. 7, 1969, died at 6:48 p.m. on May 14 at a local hospital, APD said. Austin police said investigators believe Park had been involved in a verbal argument with the suspect shortly before the shooting. The department identified Sean Walton, 24, as the suspect and said he was arrested on May 10 in Cibolo, northeast of San Antonio. Walton was booked into the Guadalupe County Jail, according to APD and local television reports. ### Where did the shooting happen, and when did officers arrive? The Budget Inn at 9106 North IH 35 southbound was the scene of the shooting, according to the Austin Police Department. Police said the call came in at 7:32 p.m. on Friday, May 8, and the report to dispatch was that a person had been shot at the business’s front desk. North Austin television coverage of the case described the property as a motel in the 9100 block of North Interstate 35 southbound. APD’s homicide notice listed the same address and said officers found the victim unresponsive when they arrived. ### Who was killed? APD identified the victim as Se Hun Park, an Asian man born on Sept. 7, 1969. Police said Park suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and was taken to a local hospital after officers reached the motel. May 14 became the date of death in the case when Park died at 6:48 p.m., according to APD. That shifted the investigation from a shooting to a homicide. ### What do police say led up to the gunfire? Austin police said Park had argued with the suspect before shots were fired. The department did not describe the substance of the argument in its public release. The front desk was the location identified by police in the initial call and in later reporting by local outlets. APD has not publicly said how many shots were fired or whether anyone else was injured. ### Who has been arrested? Sean Walton, 24, was arrested on May 10 in Cibolo, APD said. Police identified Walton as Hispanic in the department’s homicide release and said he was the suspect in the shooting. KVUE and FOX 7 Austin reported Walton was taken into custody outside San Antonio and remained in custody after the arrest. APD’s public statement described him as arrested rather than still at large. ### What remains unanswered in the case? APD said the homicide investigation is ongoing. The department’s public release did not list a motive beyond the reported verbal argument, and it did not say whether Walton had been formally charged in Travis County court as of the release. The Austin Police Department’s Homicide Unit handles homicide investigations inside the city and publishes case updates through the city’s police news pages. Police records and court filings are likely to provide the next public details on the case as prosecutors move forward.