Man dead after downtown Austin shooting; teenage suspect in custody

AUSTIN, Texas - Police have arrested a 16-year-old boy accused of shooting a man to death in Downtown Austin Monday night. 

They said there had been a brief exchange before the teen pulled the trigger near 3rd and Nueces streets.

This is being investigated as Austin's 13th homicide of 2025.

The backstory:

The Austin Police Department says that at around 7:29 p.m., officers responded to the intersection of 3rd Street and Nueces after multiple 911 calls of shots being fired.

When officers arrived, they found an unresponsive Black male in his 40s with gunshot wounds. Police said he died at the hospital a short time later.

APD has since identified the man as 39-year-old Tavon Brown.

APD says that the suspected shooter fled the area on foot and was ultimately apprehended. 

The suspect has been identified as a 16-year-old Hispanic male.

The investigation so far shows that Brown and another unrelated male were walking north towards the Shoal Creek pedestrian bridge when they encountered two males. Brown made a comment to the suspect about his position on the walkway as they passed by. 

The suspect then shot at Brown, striking him. 

APD says that aside from this brief exchange, the motive for the shooting remains unknown.

Reaction from people nearby

What they're saying:

"I was in my apartment, and I heard sirens, I didn't think anything of it," Austin resident Jason Goldenberg said.

Goldenberg was in his condo in Downtown Austin and said he was about to head out about the time of the shooting.

"In the elevator down to my truck, somebody goes, like made a very off-handed comment, they were like, don't get shot tonight and I was like, what?" Goldenberg said.

Just outside the door, Goldenberg said there was yellow tape and at least a dozen police cars.

Corbin McDavitt said he was in the middle of it all.

"Very cinematic is what it felt like," McDavitt said.

He said he was leaving the library on 2nd Street when he heard gunshots.

"It was probably about like eight shots," McDavitt said.

He said he then walked up to the Shoal Creek Pedestrian Bridge.

"There was probably like 10 people gathered around the weapon and a bag," McDavitt said.

"They [the male victim] got shot on the bridge and then stumbled their way to Polvo’s and fell in front of Polvo’s," Goldenberg said.

"Here's the really sad part though is somebody said that they pulled their footage from their unit and they were able to see that the people that were like in the surrounding area like the workers at some of these places and people in the surrounding area watched the guy fall and did nothing about it," Goldenberg added.

The teen ran off, but police went after him.

"Some were taking off on feet, some were in cars," McDavitt said.

"When I found out, like somebody actually did get shot, it's just as spooky, you know, living in this building and knowing that that's happening on my front doorstep," Goldenberg said.

What you can do:

If you have any information, contact the Austin Police Department Homicide Tip Line at (512) 974-8477 or Crime Stoppers at (512) 472-8477.

DowntownCrime and Public Safety