Three people died and 14 people have been hospitalized in a shooting on West Sixth Street in Austin early Sunday morning. The suspect, who's included in the number of dead, was killed by Austin police officers responding to the shooting.
The shooting happened at Buford's, a bar on West Sixth and Rio Grande streets, said Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis at a 5 a.m. press conference.
Austin-Travis County EMS received the call about the shooting at 1:59 a.m., and paramedics and officers were on the scene within 57 seconds attending to patients, said ATCEMS Chief Robert Luckritz.
The male suspect was armed when police arrived, and three officers "returned fire," killing him, Davis said.
Luckritz said there were a total of 17 patients on the scene. Three were pronounced dead on scene, including the suspect. Of the 14 people taken to the hospital, three were in critical condition.
"I'm very thankful for the speed with which our public safety officials responded to this. I don't think there's any question that it saved lives," Mayor Kirk Watson said.
Officials didn't share information on the identity of the suspect at the press conference.
Austinites looking for loved ones in the aftermath of the shooting should call APD's victim services unit at 512-974-5037, police said.
"My condolences to those that have been touched by this. This is a tragic, tragic incident," Davis said.
APD initially posted on X at 3:46 a.m. that multiple people were injured in the incident and the suspect was deceased. Police asked people to avoid the area.
Officials expect to share more information over the course of the day.
Austin Police officers are on scene investigating an Officer Involved Shooting in the 600 block of Rio Grande Street. The suspect is deceased. The incident originated as a shoot/stab hotshot incident with multiple people injured. Please avoid the area. More information to follow.… https://t.co/rPlwTeEEZB
— Austin Police Department (@Austin_Police) March 1, 2026
This is a developing story.
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