Austin Police Department (APD) has arrested a suspect connected to a mass shooting in Austin, Texas, near South by Southwest (SXSW) festivities.

Fox 7 in Austin, Texas, reports that APD officers heard gunshots in the 400 block near Toulouse Bar while on patrol around 2 a.m.; they discovered four people were shot. They were transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

A disturbance between two groups of people led to the shooting. Additionally, there were seven times as many officers in the entertainment district, as usual, this weekend due to SXSW. Ken Casaday, the Austin Police Association president, said that over 30 arrests were made that weekend, and over 19 had handguns on them.

“I know they made over 30 arrests and arrested over 19 people with handguns on their persons,” Casaday said. “So it was a very busy night leading up to the shooting.”

According to Casaday, approximately 150 APD officers were in downtown Austin Saturday night and Sunday morning. In addition, APD typically has 20 to 30 officers to protect the public during non-festival weekends in the bar district.

Several people were taken into custody following the shooting, and officers announced they had the suspect in custody a few hours later before 5 a.m. on Sunday.

A year before the SXSW festival went virtual in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic; three separate shootings also occurred in Austin’s entertainment district as the festival drew to a close. Despite no apparent connection between the shootings, Austin Police Chief Brian Manley pledged to increase security in the area.

“We are not going to let our entertainment district be turned into a place where shootings become the common occurrence,” Manley said.

During this year’s festival celebrating film, music, and technology industries – the first in-person return since 2019 – Austin police increased police presence downtown.

 

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