Two shootings in Austin in under seven hours as city reels from mass killing two weeks ago
Two separate shootings, in the span of seven hours, shook Austinites less than two weeks after a mass killing of four people in Austin and two in San Antonio.
Jen Ramos was scheduled to work a double shift at a restaurant in the Barton Creek Square mall on Saturday, but instead, shortly before the 5 p.m. shift change, she heard a loud bang and recognized it as a gunshot.
"I immediately hit the ground and crawled to the kitchen to warn others," she said.
Ramos said the staff escorted customers to the back of the restaurant, toward the service entrance, locking all the doors to potential intruders. One of her coworkers, a former Army medic, gave aid to the man who was shot, she said.
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Austin police took 30 to 40 minutes to clear the building and surrounding area, while Ramos and restaurant patrons were sheltered in the restaurant's service area. This is the second time Ramos has experienced a lockdown because of a shooting.
The Austin Police Department confirmed Monday that the shooting was a result of a physical altercation between two groups of strangers, one of whom was selling merchandise through social media. The two men suspected of firing the shots fled the scene immediately afterward. The injured man sustained a non-life-threatening gunshot wound and was taken to a local hospital.
Law enforcement have yet to arrest any suspects and are seeking information about the two men. Police said there is no continued threat to the public.
Speaking on Sunday, after her regular restaurant shift, Ramos said the restaurant's staff was heavily shaken by Saturday's incident. She also noted that Sundays are usually very busy, but "today was significantly quieter."
Hours later, a shooting on Sixth Street
Hours later, video surveillance obtained by KXAN shows a man in a hooded sweatshirt in front of East Sixth Street bar Soho Lounge with a handgun. In the video, he briefly points his gun at officers and bystanders before responding officers fired their guns several times, fatally injuring the unidentified gunman. He was declared dead at the scene by Austin-Travis County EMS.
Three people also suffered gunshot wounds and were treated at the scene and then taken to a hospital. Two were seriously wounded, and one had injuries that were not life-threatening, according to EMS.
In a statement, police said the incident was "not preventable," but that the first officer arrived on scene within one minute of notification, and the department is looking into making improvements to "safety and visibility in areas of concern."
More: Armed man killed by Austin police at Sixth Street bar; three others injured
Bartenders working on the block said they locked the doors to their respective establishments and sheltered in place with bar patrons for about an hour until they were cleared to leave, at which time all bars on East Sixth Street between Brazos and San Jacinto streets were closed.
Austin resident Mark Brown said he was having drinks at In Plain Sight, a cocktail bar a block away from the shooting, when a bartender calmly alerted patrons to an active shooter and shuffled the dozen or so bar patrons into the basement to shelter in place.
Brown said they sheltered in place for about 20 minutes before receiving the all-clear from bar staff. He said exorbitant ride-booking prices forced him to wait another 20 minutes before booking a car home. Once in the car, Brown recalled seeing police tape down the block.
"It wasn't until then that I realized it happened so close," Brown said.
Staff writer Skye Seipp contributed to this story.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: In one weekend, two separate shootings shook Austin businesses
