One killed, three injured in officer-involved shooting on 6th Street
AUSTIN (KXAN) -- One person is dead and three bystanders were injured after an officer-involved shooting on Sixth Street, according to police. It happened about 10 minutes before midnight Saturday evening in the often crowded 200 block of East Sixth Street between Brazos and San Jacinto streets.
Interim Austin Police Chief Robin Henderson briefed reporters about the shooting at a news conference early Sunday morning outside police headquarters. Henderson said the incident started when officers responded to a report of an individual trying to illegally carry a gun into a bar. An employee alerted police.
"As officers approached the suspect, the suspect pulled out the firearm and pointed it in the direction of officers and innocent bystanders," said Henderson. "In response, three APD officers discharged their department-approved firearms at the suspect. The suspect sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was later pronounced deceased."
Three bystanders were injured during the shooting and taken to the hospital. One person is in critical condition, while two others have non-life-threatening injuries, Henderson said. She added APD is investigating whether any of the bystanders were shot by police or by the suspect.
"That remains to be seen," Henderson said when asked by KXAN whether the officers had accidentally shot the bystanders. "There were several shots that were fired and we're still determining that."
When KXAN asked Henderson if the suspect fired their gun, she responded there are "indications" that's what happened.
"There are indications that the suspect discharged his firearm," she said.
From a window above the scene, a video sent to KXAN by a viewer shows paramedics giving aid to one of the victims. A man is heard telling people that he saw "a guy next door that came out of the bar."
The three officers have nine, 11 and 13 years of experience with the department, respectively. None were injured in the shooting. All three have been placed on administrative duty pending the outcome of an internal investigation, per policy, Henderson said.
There will be two investigations into what happened. The first is a criminal investigation into the suspect's actions in conjunction with the Travis County District Attorney's Office, Henderson said. The second is an administrative investigation into the officers' response conducted by the APD Internal Affairs Unit and the Office of Police Oversight.
Aiding in that investigation is the fact that all of this was captured on police body camera video. That will be released to the public "within 10 business days," per department policy, Henderson said.
Because of the upcoming holidays, the videos might not be available until Jan. 2.
KXAN has also made a public records request for any 911 calls made at the time.
The identities of the dead suspect, the three bystanders and the three officers involved have not yet been made public. Police did not identify the bar where the incident happened.
The city previously launched a safety initiative after a deadly shooting on Sixth Street in June 2021 that killed one person and wounded 14 others. Afterward, Austin launched the Safer Sixth Street Initiative. Since then, additional surveillance cameras were installed around the entertainment district, a critical incident training program was created for bars and a staging area was established to help the response time for first responders.
The city is still exploring ways to make changes to improve safety for the people who visit Sixth Street.
Henderson encouraged anyone with information about Saturday evening's shooting to contact APD's Special Investigations Unit at (512) 974-6840 or the Capital Area Crime Stoppers at (512) 472-8477. Callers can remain anonymous.
"I just want to restate that this investigation is in its early stages," said Henderson. "And all this information is preliminary and it may change as the investigation progresses."