Austin, Texas: 13 injured after gun attack in Texas

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Austin crime scene: gunfire in the nightlife district

Photo: NURI VALLBONA / REUTERS

At around 1:25 a.m. local time, an unidentified man opened fire on numerous people in a nightlife district in Austin for reasons previously unknown.

At least 13 people were injured, some seriously, and two are in "critical condition", according to the Austin police.

The location of the attack was the entertainment district 6thStreet, known as the party mile. At the time of the attack, several thousand people are said to have moved in the neighborhood. According to a police spokesman, public traffic was "close to the level before the pandemic". Witnesses interrogated so far could only testify that one or more people - even this is not clear - apparently fired arbitrarily into the crowd, which then dispersed in panic, reports the Washington Post.

While the majority of the injured had to be transported to hospitals by rescue workers, there were apparently also victims who suffered minor injuries at the edge of the action and who tried to find a doctor themselves.

At least one of the injured seems to have been targeted by the shooter: The man was brought in with "multiple gunshot wounds", according to a police spokesman.

Terror?

A gang war?

Everything is possible

It is completely unclear who was shooting around for what reasons.

Joseph Chacon, currently serving as Austin interim chief of police, briefed the public before morning.

The search is for an African American with dreadlocks - more is not known about the perpetrator.

So far, apparently no witness has been found who could provide details on clothing and appearance.

The Austin Police have been searching the borough since dawn, while data specialists are sifting through available camera footage from traffic, security cameras and police officers' bodycams in order to reconstruct the events. Video recordings on social media channels show rescue workers tending to victims lying on the ground, while music from discos is throbbing in the background.

The US news channel CNN reports that in addition to special police forces, a team from the FBI's terrorism task force is taking part in the investigation.

The security authorities have so far kept all options open, but also do not rule out the possibility that the firearms attack could have been a shootout between criminal gangs.

As long as the facts were not clarified, the Austin police urged visitors and residents of the city to avoid the downtown district around 6th Street in Austin.

A heated debate about the use and control of firearms began on the Austin Police Twitter profile immediately after the first report of the violence.

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