Four Injured In Sunday Morning Shooting Near Austin’s SXSW Festival

In the early hours of the last day of the annual South by Southwest festival, four people were shot nonfatally in downtown Austin near where the festival was taking place. Local police say a suspect was arrested, confirmed none of the victims were killed, and added that they did not expect the shooting was festival-related.

According to Austin PD, the shooting occurred after two groups began fighting by the bar Toulouse at around 2 a.m. local time Sunday. The suspect was arrested by 4 a.m. according to tweets from the Austin PD.

SXSW returned to in-person programming this year after two years of virtual events. In 2019, there were three different shootings in the Austin entertainment district, and authorities said they planned to step up security when in-person events resumed.

According to Ken Casaday, president of the Austin Police Association, Austin PD, “made over 30 arrests and arrested over 19 people with handguns. So it was a very busy night leading up to the shooting.”

Austin’s Mayor Steve Adler cited the state laws allowing less-regulated gun ownership as an issue that’s causing more frequent shootings in an interview with KVUE. “We just have so many people carrying guns. Used to be when you had two groups that were fighting… when they would get into arguments, they would get into fistfights. But now, under state law where they’re allowed to carry guns, when a fight breaks out, somebody is pulling out a gun.”

The festival came back in a big way this year, with premieres of hot-ticket films like the Michelle Yeoh-led Everything Everywhere All At Once, and keynote speakers including Lizzo and Beck. The festival even closed out with the premiere of the third season of Donald Glover‘s well loved FX series Atlanta.