Austin Police are still investigating ashootingincident that left at least two people wounded during Sunday's local barbecue street event.
A shooting turned a lively 'Sunday Funday' barbecue into a tragic scene with multiple casualties, prompting immediate speculation over the gunfire's source and the timeline of events. Police said the shooting happened on 26 April in front of Sam's BBQ, located at 2000 E. 12th St., East Austin.
Two people were confirmed injured and rushed to the hospital for treatment, but authorities have yet to confirm the nature of their injuries. TheAmerican-Statesmanreported the incident as relayed by an Austin Daquiri Factory employee, who heard shots coming from the same street.
Authorities have not established a clearmotive, with investigators probing whether the shooter targeted known rivals from the event or fired indiscriminately into the attendees. The gunfire reportedly broke out at around 8 p.m., but it was unclear if the shooting was even related to the party.
After preliminary investigations, the Austin Police Department said 'there is no immediate danger to the public' following the incident. The broader areas of Chicano and Alamo were blocked for hours in the immediate aftermath, while detectives scoured for evidence. The shooter reportedly fled immediately and is still at large, and no suspect has been arrested following the incident.
With scarce information about the shooting's timeline, the perpetrator, and the victims, alleged witnesses took to social media to piece together the events. One user claims a third person had been shot, but may have run off before police arrived.
'I live across the street. My husband was home. He heard 4-5 shots. He stayed inside,' the user wrote onReddit. 'I was out at an event. When I got home, I walked over and talked to several bystanders. They also heard 4-5 shots.'
The user claimed one of the casualties was also shot in the head. 'This was apparently pretty much right in front of Sam's BBQ,' they said. 'Two people I talked to said they heard he died. Two other people said he was still moving when they were loading him into the ambulance.'
Another user said they thought the shots were fireworks, until they heard police sirens. Other commenters pitched in with unrelated experiences that otherwise alluded to the area'salarming crime rate, which is allegedly consistent with other parts of Austin.
'I'd be curious to see stats of central Austin shootings to population over the years,' another user asserted. 'My first thought is that we're just growing into a larger city. Would like to understand the major factors at play when it comes to more frequent shootings.'
Source: International Business Times UK
