AUSTIN, TX — The FBI is investigating whether terrorism played a role in a mass shooting early Sunday outside a bar in Austin that left two people dead and 14 others injured. Police said the suspected gunman was killed after a confrontation with officers in the city’s busy Sixth Street entertainment district.
Authorities said the attack began just before 2 a.m. near Buford’s Bar on the 600 block of Rio Grande Street. Austin police said the suspect fired from a large SUV, then got out and continued shooting at people gathered outside. The fast police and EMS response appears to have kept the toll from rising higher.
How the shooting unfolded outside Buford’s Bar
Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said 911 callers started reporting gunfire near Buford’s Bar around 2 a.m. She said callers reported that someone was shooting in the area as patrons were outside on the patio and in front of the business.
Davis said a large SUV drove around the block several times before the driver put on flashers, rolled down a window and opened fire with a pistol from the vehicle. After that, she said, the suspect parked, got out and continued firing at people on the sidewalk. Police said the gunfire took place in the heart of downtown Austin’s nightlife district.
Police officers were already in the entertainment district
Davis said officers assigned to patrol the Sixth Street entertainment district were already nearby when the shooting started. She said they were about 55 to 56 seconds away from the scene and rushed toward the sound of the gunfire…