Homicide has Austin residents concerned about violent crime, safety

AUSTIN, Texas - The Austin Police Department is investigating an incident that led to a man's death. It happened in Austin's Entertainment District, on East 6th Street, at around 2 a.m. Sunday, September 4. 

The news has some residents concerned for their safety and some are contemplating moving out of the city.

Police said a man seen walking in the Entertainment District and was bleeding profusely from his stomach. He was transported to the hospital where he later died from his injuries.

"There was two males that had gotten into an argument, and it escalated and that was the point where the incident occurred," APD Officer Juan Asencio said.

Several blocks were closed off for hours as homicide investigated.

"We're told by a witness that he was walking around, therefore he had blood splatter around the area, so that's why we closed down as much as we can where we found any evidence, we closed it down, so it is a pretty big scene," Officer Asencio said.

Some residents said they're concerned about the news of another violent crime happening in the city.

"Every day I wonder ‘is my daughter going to get killed today?'" South Austin resident Patricia Potyka said.

Potyka said her family stays home more.

"I base a lot of decisions as to our social life and what we do in accordance with what's going on, because guess what, I'm not willing to take a chance," Potyka said.

Potyka said one of the problems is there aren't enough police officers for the number of crimes occurring in the city. The President of the Austin Police Association said it's common for APD to have two or three officers on a daily shift in certain areas of the city because of staffing issues.

"As someone who lives here and is law-abiding and has a reverent respect for backing the blue and what our police officers do, but we're in a crisis. We have a big crisis here," Potyka said.

As of the end of August, 52 homicides in Austin have been reported this year which is trending close to the record 88 homicides reported last year.

"I can't even go grocery shopping without the fear of constantly looking," Potyka said. "I have grave concerns about the direction our city is headed."

This direction is the reason why Tami Hand said she moved from Austin to Belton.

"We moved there in 76 when I was 11, and it was a whole different [city], it was real family friendly, you could go out, we ran the streets, never concerned about, and then now you can't do that with your kids," Hand said.

Potyka agreed and is considering leaving too. 

"I grew up in San Antonio, and we're thinking about migrating back in a couple years because of the crime," Potyka said.

The homicide is being investigated. If you have any information, call the Austin Police Department.