Photo Credit: Fox 7 Austin
Four people were shot early Sunday in downtown Austin during the final weekend of the SXSW festival.
The Austin Police Department tweeted around 4 a.m. that officers were at the scene and announced just before 6 a.m. that a suspect was in custody.
The police department said the shooting occurred on East 6th St. near Toulouse Bar and began as “a disturbance between two groups of people.” All four victims were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
The police department said they have not released the suspect’s name due to the investigation being ongoing.
This is the first time since the beginning of the Covid pandemic that SXSW has taken place in-person. The annual event includes multiple conferences and festivals covering film, music, comedy, technology, politics, and professional development.
In 2019, multiple shootings occurred in Austin as the festival drew to a close, prompting Austin’s former police chief to pledge to increase security efforts in the future.
“We are not going to let our entertainment district be turned into a place where shootings become the common occurrence,” said Chief Brian Manley at the time. Manley retired in 2021.
According to Fox7 Austin, APD had seven times the number of officers than normal in the entertainment district because of SXSW this weekend.
“I know they made over 30 arrests and arrested over 19 people with handguns on their persons,” said Austin Police Association President Ken Casaday. “So it was a very busy night leading up to the shooting.”
