One Killed in Shooting near Sixth and Neches in Austin, TX
Austin, TX — December 7, 2022, a man was shot and killed in the early morning on Sixth Street in downtown Austin.
Authorities say the incident happened around 2 a.m., when APD officers working in the area near East Sixth and Neches Street heard gunshots. They arrived at the scene and found a man fatally injured from gunshot wounds. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene a few minutes later.
The suspect may have fled the scene after the shooting but was quickly located and detained.
The investigation continues. No further information is available at this time.
Commentary on Sixth Street Shooting in Austin
Shootings are largely criminal matters, and as I'm not a criminal attorney I don't typically chime in about them. However, when they happen within spitting distance of a dozen or so bars and alcohol-serving restaurants there may be other considerations beyond what the suspect did. The crime may have been wholly unrelated to drinking and I'm not claiming to know otherwise, but if intoxication played a part then whoever provided the alcohol may have consequences of their own coming under Texas dram shop law.
Dram shop law basically says that licensed alcohol vendors who over-serve customers may be liable for harm those people cause or suffer while intoxicated. It's most often associated with drunk driving crashes, but dram shop applies to many other situations--including fights and assaults caused mostly by someone being too drunk to think it through. If the shooter pulled the trigger in such a state, whoever helped them get that way may be accountable for their part in the victim's tragic death.
I don't know more than what news reports say, which means I don't even know alcohol was a factor--let alone whether over-service occurred. I just know that in many cases there's a tendency to blame something like this solely on the obvious suspect, and while that individual deserves serious consequences the buck may not actually stop there. If further investigation could get answers and help for a grieving family AND teach a law-breaking bar a serious lesson, that's more than enough reason to do so.
