FOX 7 Discussion: Public safety concerns in Austin
AUSTIN, Texas - Gov. Greg Abbott spoke Tuesday about recent deadly attacks committed by homeless and transient individuals.
Abbott said the shooting at the Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement is being reviewed, but will probably not be classified as domestic terrorism.
Abbott had the same opinion about the knife attack at the South Congress Freebirds that left one employee and the suspect dead and another employee injured in Austin last Friday.
The governor denounced local policies, specifically in Austin, that he says perpetuate a sense of lawlessness by the homeless.
"And an attitude by the city of Austin that seems to be one where they care more about the homeless individual committing the crime as opposed to the victims of these crimes, and it's time for the city of Austin to step up and start enforcing the law and start putting the safety of the people of Austin first so that nobody else is going to lose their life because of these modified rules adopted by the city of Austin," Abbott said.
Abbott's comments are an escalation of what he stated on Twitter Friday after the attack at the Freebirds location.
RELATED: Fatal stabbing on S. Congress sparks homeless policy debate among state and city leaders
Councilmember and Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza issued a response to Abbott, calling his comments scapegoating and a distraction from his poor leadership and failure to fund resources for mental health and housing.
Texas Gun Sense president Ed Scruggs joins Marcel Clarke to discuss the deadly stabbing on South Congress and what Austin can do better to prevent violence like this from happening again.
Scruggs serves on the Austin Task Force on Gun Violence and the Austin Public Safety Commission.
