1 Dead, 4 Injured in Shooting on Austin’s 6th Street Music District

austin-shooting-police

This story has been updated. See below.

One woman is dead, and four others are injured after a shooter opened fire in Austin, TX’s popular 6th Street district—the heart of the Live Music Capital of the World. The suspect is still at large.

According to Austin Police Chief of Staff Brian Manley, the suspect opened fire at approximately 2:17 a.m. Sunday morning, right after Austin’s bars close and 6th Street is usually at its most crowded. The Austin Police Department, which stations officers throughout 6th Street during busy times, heard the shots near 6th and San Jacinto in front of the Friend’s Bar at 208 E. 6th St., and was able to respond immediately. EMS units were also stationed nearby.

A woman in her 20’s was pronounced dead at the scene, and three other women—all in their 30’s—were injured in the incident and transported to the nearby University Medical Center Brackenridge with gunshot wounds. Another injured victim refused treatment.

The scene in downtown Austin was described as chaotic as music venue and club goers scattered after hearing shots, fearing the worst after multiple, high-profile shooting incidents recently. Police believe the incident began as a disturbance, but are still gathering evidence and eyewitness accounts. One of the individuals involved in the disturbance pulled a gun and began shooting into the crowd before fleeing. Police have yet to release a description of a suspect.

Just seven minutes after the incident, another shooting occurred just a few blocks away in a parking garage in the 800 block of Trinity, making Austin Police fear that the two incidents were linked, and the crowded downtown Austin entertainment district was involved in an active shooter situation. However the 2nd incident was discovered to be an isolated assault, where a disgruntled individual pulled a firearm and shot several times at another individual before being subdued by witnesses and eventually apprehended. The suspect in the second shooting was taken to the hospital after sustaining injuries.

“What we had was two separate incidences that occurred in very close proximity to each other in both location and time, that made us initially believe it was an active shooter,” said Austin Police Chief of Staff Brian Manley in a press conference (see below).

Person of Interest: Endicott McCray
Person of Interest: Endicott McCray

Nonetheless, the shooting has put Austin and its famed 6th Street music district on edge, especially after the assassination of 5 police officers and many other injuries in Dallas, TX recently, and because the suspect still remains at large. The location of the shooting is also not far from where 4 people were killed, and 23 were injured during SXSW when a driver drove his car through the crowd.

UPDATE: Austin Police have named a person of interest in the case. , and wears a goatee and dreadlocks. He is a resident of nearby San Marcos, and has a criminal past.

The decease victim has been named as of Las Vegas, NV. She was in Austin visiting family when killed.

Austin police are asking anyone with information or video of the incident to reach out to police3@austintexas.gov or 512-477-3588. Multiple surveillance cameras are in use in and around 6th Street, giving hope to investigators the shooter was caught on camera.

 

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