Austin Police Look For A Suspect At A Downtown Shooting That Wounded 13 Individuals

Someone opened fire in a busy entertainment district in downtown Austin early Saturday, wounding 13 people, including two seriously, before getting away, authorities said.

Austin Police Look For A Suspect At A Downtown Shooting That Wounded 13 Individuals

Investigators were looking into exactly what sparked the shooting and were not able to get a detailed description of the shooter, but they believe it was a guy, interim Police Chief Joseph Chacon stated at a 4 a.m. news conference. He said investigators were examining surveillance video along with other signs, and he asked anyone with information about the shooting to get the authorities.

The gunfire erupted just before 1:30 a.m. along 6th Street, a favorite area filled with restaurants and pubs. At the moment, the street was barricaded to keep traffic out, Chacon said.

Eleven of those injured were taken to a local hospital and another two were taken to other associations, the chief said.

"Our officers responded quite quickly," the interim chief said. "They had the ability to immediately begin life-saving measures for a lot of these patients, including software of tourniquets; applications of chest seals."

Many officers drove patients to the hospital because of how chaotic it was at the shooting scene, in which it had been hard to contain the audience and get ambulances to the wounded,'' Chacon said.