Gunman at large after shooting in Austin, Texas bar district leaves 13 in hospital
Two of the victims are in a critical condition, say police who dealt with wounded at scene
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Police are looking for a gunman who opened fire in the busy bar and nightclub district of Austin late on Saturday, injuring at least 13 people.
Two of the victims are believed in be in “critical condition”, according to acting Police Chief Joseph Chacon, after the shooter fired at roughly 1.30 am on the busy 6th Street, a location known its hospitality venues.
“Our officers responded very quickly,” Mr Chacon said. “They were able to immediately begin life-saving measures for many of these patients, including applications of tourniquets, applications of chest seals.”
Some of the victims were taken for treatment in police cars, and not ambulances. This was said to be because of the location and type of the crime scene as there were lots of people around. Ambulances were hard to get in and out.
The suspect is still at large and is believed to be a man. Mr Chacon said their understanding of the offender was “not very detailed.”
Authorities are looking at video footage captured on CCTV and other evidence gathered from the area. They are appealing for anyone with any information to come forward to the police.
According to reporting from CNN, federal investigators from the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force are also at the scene, alongside members of the local Aggravated Assault, Homicide and Organised Crime and Gang divisions. Gang crime has no been removed as a possibility, but motive are not evident yet.
The police urged with a statement on Twitter to avoid the area.
“APD Officers working shooting downtown. Multiple victims with injuries. Media staging location will be E 9th street and IH 35 SVRD South bound (Valero gas station). Please stay away from 6th street. Will update with briefing time,” the Austin Police Department wrote.
In the early hours of 1 January 2020, two people were shot in a bar on the same street, a man and woman, who were seriously injured, at Terminal 6. According to reports at the time, they were not considered to be “life threatening.”
This followed a series of other shootings in the months prior at nearby entertainment venues