Violent crime across Austin has dropped by more than 8-percent since last year, but specifically in downtown, the violent crime rate is headed in the opposite direction. Now, following two consecutive weekends of shootings in the Red River District, the Austin Police Department is implementing a 100{fbcf2a5c42fe71624047a18c73673849799bd5d53cdb5d8ca16f4833367ca63d} staffing policy for the downtown sector until further notice.
“Individual robberies this year have been 59 compared to 33 at the same point last year,” said Chief of Police Brian Manley. “Aggravated assaults, there have been 90 this year compared to 60 last year.”
The full staffing level in downtown will apply mostly to the weekend, and will include additional officers who will draw overtime pay. It’s a move that is expected to be temporary, but has no specific timeframe, according to Manley.
“Until we feel like we’ve addressed the issue or until we have identified alternative ways to maintain the safety in this area,” he said.
The increased manpower, which will be implemented immediately, will also include APD’s organized crime and gang units.
The latest spate of violence happened late Saturday night on 7th Street, near the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless. One man was shot in the leg following a fight outside of the ARCH, an affidavit says. But despite that incident’s proximity to the shelter, police say neither the shooter nor the victim were actually homeless. The victim was struck in the leg by one of two rounds fired by the alleged shooter, Moses Mohinga, 18, who fled the scene but has now been charged with Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon.
One week earlier, another fight touched off in the early morning hours of a Sunday. In nearly the exact same area, video showed a man pulling a gun from his waistband and firing three rounds at a young woman, striking her. No one involved in that fight was said to be homeless either.
Separately, an incident this past weekend at a bar in the Domain led to a man being hospitalized with stab wounds. Manley says, despite the relative safety of the Domain, increased police manpower will also be added to that area, too.
