Argument leads to deadly shooting in Southeast Austin, police say; 2nd homicide in less than a week
A man was killed in a shooting early Sunday in Southeast Austin, adding to an unprecedented death toll as police investigate more than 80 homicides this year.
Austin police said the shooting Sunday was sparked by an argument, and that when officers arrived at the scene — in the 4600 block of Cypress Bend, near Nuckols Crossing Road, shortly after getting a call at 6:32 a.m. — a man was on the ground with gunshot wounds.
The man, whom police did not identify, was treated by officers and then Austin-Travis County EMS medics, but he was pronounced dead at the scene at 6:52 a.m.
The identity of a suspect is known, and that person knew the victim, police said, but the suspect is not yet in custody.
"It was an isolated incident between two (people)," said senior officer Demetri Hobbs, an Austin police spokesman. "And it went bad."
More: Shooting at Northeast Austin Walmart is city's 83rd homicide; suspects at large, police say
Sunday's deadly shooting comes only days after police found a man with gunshot wounds in the parking lot of a Walmart store in Northeast Austin.
Police responded to a shooting Wednesday night at the Walmart at 1030 Norwood Park Blvd., near East Anderson Lane, around 10:39 p.m., just minutes before the store would close for the Thanksgiving holiday.
The man, whom police have not identified, was taken to a nearby hospital, where he later died, police said.
Police have not determined what led to the shooting. Multiple suspects are believed to be involved and are still at large, police said.
Before Wednesday, Austin police had reported more than 80 homicide cases in 2021. Austin’s previous record for homicides in a single year was 59 in 1984.
While the number of deaths has increased, Austin's homicide rate was much higher in the 1980s than it is today. The rate was 13.2 per 100,000 back then, compared with 8.6 as of this weekend.
Austin police records go as far back as 1960, and since that year, the city had averaged 36 homicides a year.
The homicides in 2021 are a 73% increase from all of 2020, when Austin police reported 48 violent deaths.
Police are asking anyone with more information about the homicides to call their homicide tip line at 512-477-3588.
Statesman reporter Luz Moreno-Lozano contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Argument leads to deadly shooting in Southeast Austin, police say
