Austin Police has yet to name the man who drove into a crowded Austin street killing two and injuring 23 during SXSW on Thursday. Police cannot name the suspect until he has been formerly charged.
The man, believed to be a 22-year local, was driving a stolen car while drunk when he crashed into the crowd of SXSW delegates along Red River near 10th outside the Mohawk club at around 12:30am Thursday morning.
He will be charged with two counts of capital murder and now faces the death sentence under Texan law.
APD cannot release the name of the suspect in the #SXSW Red River incident until formal charges have been filed. We will update when we can.
— Austin Police Dept (@Austin_Police) March 13, 2014
SXSW has released the following statement:
The SXSW staff is stunned and deeply moved by the events of last night.
Dozens of us were on the scene when the incident occurred and we worked closely with APD to create a perimeter around the area, turning back all the visitors spilling out of the clubs who headed north on Red River Street.
To avoid confusion we plan to carry on with our scheduled daytime events at the Austin Convention Center in order to serve our tens of thousands of participants during this tragic time.
All of the SXSW staff and volunteers reported for their regular duties this morning and will continue working today on the event.We are contacting all of the venues to find out if they have made any decisions about their operations that might impact our visitors.
Despite all of our preparations for dealing with a major incident during SXSW, nothing could really prepare us for how this feels. As much as we would like to just go home and spend time absorbing the shock of this horrific event, we feel our best use is to continue to operate today.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the injured and with the families of the fatalities.
– Witnesses can contact APD 512-974-5186
– Check on a loved one. Red Cross will have list by 1pm 800-928-4271
A service will be held at St. David’s Episcopal Church at 5:30pm today for the victims at 301 E. 8th St, Austin.
St. David's Episcopal Church is hosting a 5:30pm prayer service for #sxsw crash victims in their Labyrinth, 301 E. 8th St. All invited.
— Austin Police Dept (@Austin_Police) March 13, 2014
A call has also gone out for people to donate blood for urgently needed for the 23 crash victims.
The Blood Center of Central Texas is asking for donations to replenish blood supplies after the fatal #sxsw crash. http://t.co/1VSkOvpVRH
— Austin Police Dept (@Austin_Police) March 13, 2014
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