4 Shot at South by Southwest Festival in Austin

4 Shot at South by Southwest Festival in Austin
The Theatre screen shows the SXSW logo at the SXSW Film Awards during the 2022 SXSW Conference and Festivals at the Paramount Theatre, in Austin, Texas, on March 15, 2022. (Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for SXSW)
Tribune News Service
3/20/2022
Updated:
4/18/2022
By Kate Feldman From New York Daily News

A gunman opened fire at an Austin intersection early Sunday morning as the annual South by Southwest (SXSW) festival was coming to a close.

Four people were shot, but there were no life-threatening injuries, according to the Austin Police Department. All four were taken to a “casualty collection point,” then by ambulance to a nearby trauma center, according to the Austin-Travis County EMS.

None of the victims have been publicly identified.

A suspect was taken into custody around 6 a.m., about two hours later, but was also not identified. No charges have been announced.

A spokesperson for the Austin Police Department did not immediately return a request for comment from the Daily News Sunday.

The weeklong SXSW festival returned to in-person festivities this year after being virtual two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Featured speakers this year included Lizzo, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke, and Planned Parenthood President Alexis McGill Johnson.

After multiple shootings at the 2019 festival, former Austin Police Chief Brian Manley vowed to up the security in the entertainment district, calling the violence “unacceptable.”

APD detectives and officers in special units were pulled off other assignments to help staff SXSW for the week, Chief Joseph Chacon told CBS Austin.

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