Man shot to death near Barton Springs Pool

AUSTIN, Texas - The Austin Police Department says it is conducting a homicide investigation after a body was found near Barton Springs Pool.

At 7:15 a.m., police received a 911 call for a suspicious vehicle sitting in the Barton Springs Pool parking lot, at 2200 block of Barton Springs Road, riddled with bullet holes. Once on scene, just outside the popular swimming location, officers made a gruesome discovery.

Officers found a blood trail and then located a dead man, later identified as Camnik Campbell, 27.

The Austin Police Association confirmed the man was fatally shot in Zilker Park, making this the second homicide in a city park within 24 hours.

Police say they do not have a suspect in custody. 

Wednesday, a middle-aged man was found dead by a jogger at Auditorium Shores. 

Both homicides took place at very popular Austin parks.

"Surprising, honestly, just because so many people are here, and it's a very, very popular spot," said Matt Jones.

Austin police say all city parks used to have officers assigned to patrol, but those park police officers have been moved off that duty to aid in other departments due the ongoing police staffing shortage.

"We used to have a parks unit that was responsible for patrolling these areas. Oftentimes, they would start early in the morning, and they would patrol the area and show up at the park, you know, just before a lot of the joggers started coming out. That unit used to exist, but has since been disbanded as a result of our staffing crisis, and they're now back working just regular patrol assignments," said Michael Bullock with the APD Public Information Office.

Although police believe these incidents were isolated, APD urges the public to be vigilant as they continue to adapt to being short-staffed.