Police: 2 dead, including gunman, in shooting at Arboretum; 1 person in critical condition

Two people were killed in a shooting at the Arboretum in Northwest Austin, including the suspected shooter, interim police Chief Robin Henderson said at a news conference Thursday night.

She said one person with critical injuries was taken to a hospital. Two people were evaluated for minor injuries, officials said.

Henderson said there was no information about a motive and that the relationship between the shooter and the victims was unknown. "There are limited details tonight," she said.

She declined to say whether the shooting happened inside or outside a business at the shopping mall.

The interim chief said police were first alerted at 5 p.m. about an active shooter, which meant that multiple agencies responded, including constables and Austin school district police. Officers arrived at 5:07 p.m., she said.

At 5:11 p.m., she said, police, firefighters and medics began treating a victim, who was taken to a hospital at 5:17 p.m. At 5:20, police pronounced two people dead.

Henderson said other agencies, including the FBI and ATF also arrived because there had been reports of an explosion at the scene. She said investigators found no explosives.

“I would like to offer condolences to the families of the victims, in addition to the multiple witnesses that witnessed the tragedy here today," Henderson said.

Police and emergency medical personnel, some 30 vehicles, responded to the shooting at the 1000 block of Research Boulevard.

Multiple other businesses in the Arboretum were placed on lockdown for a short period of time.

Police are asking that anyone who has photographs or videos from the shooting to submit them to Evidence Request from Austin TX PD.

A chef at Hanara Sushi and Grill in the Arboretum said he could not hear any gunshots.

“Security came to us and said close the door, there’s a gun shooting,“ said Daniel Kwak. “It was pretty scary,” he said. “I didn’t expect that there was a shooting going on around me. “

The American-Statesman will update the story as more information becomes available.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin police: 2 dead, including gunman, in shooting at Arboretum