A gunman killed a woman and seriously wounded three others in Austin early on Sunday when he shot into a crowd as people streamed out of nightclubs in the Texas capital’s downtown area, police said.
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Austin Police Chief of Staff Brian Manley said five people were shot shortly after 2 a.m. on Sixth Street, a bustling 7-block entertainment district lined with historic buildings that now house bars, upscale restaurants, trendy shops and music venues.
The shooter struck a total of of five people, leaving one woman in her 30s dead.
Officials say there have been separate shooting incidents in downtown Austin and there are multiple victims. Police said that multiple victims were involved in the incident. However, authorities say they believe two separate and unrelated incidents have occurred in close proximity.
Emergency services raised the alarm between 2am and 3am local time and police are conitnuing to look for a suspect.
Mr Manley said one woman was pronounced dead at the scene, and three others, all female, were taken to University Medical Centre Brackenridge with gunshot wounds.
The Austin Police Department said it was seeking Endicott McCray, a slender 24-year-old black man.
Another witness, Kristin Holt, said, “I saw a guy run through the alleyway… he was like, ‘Wow that woman just got shot in the chest and she just collapsed'”.
The police department is also seeking help from members of the general public if they have video footage or photographs captured during the mass shooting. He was tackled by witnesses and taken to the hospital with unknown injuries. “Stay away from downtown”, Austin police tweeted.
“It’s very important for us to successfully investigate and handle this incident that we obtain all of those videos”, Chief Manley said.
An active shooter situation has been reported in Austin, Texas, early Sunday.
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In the second incident, a man believed to be in his 20s fired a gun at a parking garage before being restrained and disarmed by onlookers.
