Stabbing in downtown Austin leaves 1 person dead: APD

Person dead after downtown Austin stabbing

Austin police are investigating a fatal stabbing on Congress Avenue and say there is a person of interest.

AUSTIN, Texas - The Austin Police Department is investigating a fatal stabbing on Congress Avenue near Sixth Street in downtown Austin.

The stabbing is Austin's 68th homicide of 2023.

APD says around 4:17 a.m. Dec. 10, a call came in about a person stabbed in the 600 block of Congress Avenue. The victim had apparently been stabbed right in the street.

Officers responded within five minutes and began performing CPR. ATCEMS responded and transported the person to Dell Seton Medical Center where they died from their injuries.

1 stabbed on Congress Avenue

The Austin Police Department is investigating after a person was stabbed on Congress Avenue near Sixth Street early Sunday morning.

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APD had that block of Congress taped off for several hours early Sunday morning as crime scene detectives collected evidence and spoke to witnesses. The investigation so far has led them to a person of interest.

This is the first homicide in Downtown Austin in several months and comes amid an overall decrease in crime along this stretch of Congress during the fall.

APD, Downtown Austin Alliance team up

There’s been an increased police presence in Downtown Austin over the past few weeks. It’s part of a new initiative launched by the Austin Police Department and the Downtown Austin Alliance to get crime under control.

This decrease in crime is something many attribute to APD's recently-launched Downtown Safety Initiative.

"People down here are recognizing, and they see with their eyes the improvements that have happened," said Brandon Fahy, director of public space experience with the Downtown Austin Alliance.

Residents and business owners are hoping Sunday's stabbing represents an exception, not an escalation in violent crime in downtown.