13 injured in shooting in downtown Austin, authorities say

A shooting in downtown Austin overnight left 13 people hurt, and the suspect — or suspects — on Saturday morning remained at large, authorities said. Two victims are in critical condition. No deaths have been reported.

“It is unknown if there is one, or multiple suspects involved,” the Austin Police Department said. “There is one suspect described as a black male, with dread locks, wearing a black shirt and a skinny build.”

The shooting took place just before 1:30 a.m. along 6th Street, an area with restaurants and bars. 

“It is not clear at this point what sparked this off or why this happened,” interim Austin Police Chief Joseph Chacon said in an early morning press conference.

Chacon said officers responded “very quickly” to the scene. “They were able to immediately begin life-saving measures for many of these patients, including applications of tourniquets, applications of chest seals and other types of first aid equipment that they carry on their person.”

Chacon said it was difficult to contain the scene due to very large crowds and hard for EMS to make their way through. Officers used police vehicles to transport some of the shooting victims. 

Police said the area will be closed “for an extended amount of time” while the crime scene is processed.