Thirteen wounded, two critically, after shooter opens fire in Austin, Texas entertainment district then escapes
- The gunfire erupted just before 1.30am in downtown Austin in a popular area filled with bars and restaurants that often attracts thousands of visitors
- Governor Greg Abbott issued a statement thanking police and other first responders and offering prayers to the victims
A shooter opened fire in a popular entertainment district in downtown Austin, Texas early on Saturday, wounding 13 people, including two critically, before getting away, authorities said.
Investigators were looking into what sparked the shooting but were not able to get a detailed description of the shooter, though they believe it was a man and were going through surveillance video and other evidence, interim Police Chief Joseph Chacon said at a news conference at 4am local time. He asked anyone with information about the shooting to contact the police.
The gunfire erupted just before 1.30am along 6th Street, a popular area filled with bars and restaurants that often attracts thousands of visitors in the city of nearly 1 million residents that is home to the University of Texas. At the time of the shooting, the street was barricaded to allow only pedestrian traffic, Chacon said.
Matt Perlstein told local television station KXAN-TV that he was waiting with a friend to enter a bar when the shooting began.
“Everything was totally fine,” Perlstein said, then gunfire erupted. “We just heard like … a bunch of gunshots going off. Everyone got on the ground. We couldn’t even comprehend what was going on at the time.”
Eleven of the wounded were taken to one local hospital and the other two were taken to other hospitals, the chief said.