HOUSTON – Authorities said they arrested a man Tuesday who posted at least six videos on Snapchat that show him firing guns.
Gautam Seenivasan, 19, of Katy, is charged with two counts of deadly conduct in connection with the videos, which were brought to the attention of law enforcement in August, officials said.
"We're not talking about a traffic ticket. We're not talking about a DWI or a reckless driving charge. We're talking about a third-degree felony," Sean Teare, of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, said.
Harris County Precinct 5 Constable Ted Heap said the videos show Seenivasan firing a gun along the Westpark Tollway near Eldridge Road, at an apartment complex and in the backyard of his parents’ home in Katy.
“This is a crime,” Heap said. "This is not a joke. As much as it seems like something celebratory, an act that is not hurting anybody, that’s not the case. Law enforcement and the district attorney office in both counties do not consider it a joke.”
Teare said there are several other videos that show Seenivasan firing weapons but he has only been charged with two counts of the third-degree felony (one in Harris County and one in Fort Bend County) since investigators can place Seenivasan at an address in two of the videos.
“For this trend, this that’s happening now where people are posting themselves firing guns on social media, it’s as the constable said, it’s not a joke,” Teare said. "Every single one of those bullets comes down somewhere. Every time you fire one of those rounds, you are putting everyone around you at risk of dying.”
Fort Bend County Precinct 3 Constable Wayne Thompson said Seenivasan confessed to the shootings during an interview with investigators. He said Seenivasan was on probation in connection with an earlier evading charge.
"He is 19 years old and he filmed himself firing on the Tollway, in a residential area and apartment complex," Thompson said.