The deadly shooting at a West Sixth Street bar has not prompted major changes to security plans for South by Southwest, which begins March 12.
City officials and event organizers say safety planning was already designed to address the possibility of mass violence.
"We are a major city police department and we go in best practices," Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said at a Monday news conference. "I feel confident that the resources we have in play at South by Southwest will continue on, and it will be a safe festival season."
The FBI has been investigating a possible terrorism link, but hasn't drawn any conclusions in public. Davis said the suspect, who was killed by police, was wearing a shirt related to Iran. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed Saturday in Israeli attacks supported by the U.S.
"We don't want to speculate or make any guesses at this stage of this investigation as to what that motive ultimately was," FBI Special Agent Alex Doran said. He said agents were combing through massive amounts of physical and digital evidence as part of a round-the-clock investigation.
In a statement, a SXSW spokesperson said the organization is "devastated by the tragedy" and will "continue to stay in close coordination with public safety and city partners." The organization did not announce any specific changes to its security plan.
A downsized SXSW in 2026
SXSW drew more than 300,000 last year, according to festival stats. But the event will be two days shorter this year with a smaller footprint and no music-only final weekend.
The Austin Convention Center — which serves as the central hub for SXSW — was demolished last year and won't reopen till 2029. So many of the festival's daytime activities will move to hotel spaces.
SXSW organizers say the changes were also driven by a desire to make the festival more affordable. The price of the high-end platinum badge, for example, dropped $200 this year to $2,095.
But after the mass shooting on West Sixth Street, some participants still feel a bit on edge.
"You never know. It's definitely is a thought, and it's awful that it is a thought," said Elijah Delgado, a singer-songwriter who is playing his first SXSW showcase this year.
Preparing for the worst
Security professionals say safety plans for major concerts and large-scale events typically include planning for worst-case scenarios. But sometimes, unexpected things happen.
After a man drove his car into a crowd of SXSW festival goers in 2014, killing four people, Austin implemented new traffic safety measures the following year.
Attorney Steven Adelman, a co-founder of the Event Safety Alliance, said reviews of such protocols are routine after any high-profile act of violence. But dramatic changes are uncommon because security plans are already designed to address the possibility of an armed assailant.
"There are active shooter plans. There are emergency evacuation plans. There are discussions that happen all the time," Adelman said. "Those are part of the planning process for any major event, whether that major event is South by or the World Cup or the Super Bowl or the World Series or a Taylor Swift concert that comes into town."
Austin is also expecting big concerts in the days ahead. The Moody Center, Austin's largest indoor concert venue, is hosting performances by Cardi B on Friday and Lady Gaga on Sunday and Monday.
"As part of our standard procedures, comprehensive security protocols are in place to ensure a safe environment for all events," a Moody Center spokesperson said. "We work closely with local law enforcement partners and will implement any additional security measures as needed."
John Cohen, a former counterterrorism coordinator for the Department of Homeland Security, said one of the most important parts of any security plan is communication with the public.
"The goal is not to have people so scared that they hide in their basements and refuse to leave their homes," said Cohen, who currently leads the Center for Internet Security. "The goal is to have people ... aware of their surroundings. They take a quick moment as they're entering a venue, for example, and look at the exits and think for a moment, 'What would I do if there was an attack?'"
"Then they go in and enjoy the event. Because if we don't, if we get to the point where people are refusing to go to a Taylor Swift concert or to the Super Bowl or to the World Cup because they're scared of security threats, then the bad guys have won."
KUT's Andrew Weber and Stephanie Federico contributed reporting.
Copyright 2026 KUT News
