Sixth Street shooting: Michigan man dies, second suspect arrested
AUSTIN, Texas - A 25-year-old Michigan man died of his injuries after Saturday's mass shooting on Austin’s East Sixth Street.
Douglas Kantor was in Austin visiting friends when he was fatally shot in the popular nightlife district.
Kantor was originally from Airmont, New York, according to his family. He had been living in Michigan, having completed a bachelor's degree at Michigan State in computer engineering. He went on to receive a master’s degree in business and recently purchased his first house. He worked as a product manager at Ford Motor Company.
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In a statement, his family told FOX 7 Austin "...he was looking forward to marrying his high school sweetheart of ten years and starting a family. He was loved by all who knew him and had an infectious smile that would light up any room. He was loved by his family, friends and everyone who met him. This senseless tragedy has put an end to all his dreams."
His brother, Nicklaus Kantor, thanked Austin police officers in an online post writing "...the courage and quick action by the officers to put my brother in the police car and race him to the hospital nearly did save his life and I commend them for their quick thinking…"
President of the Austin-Travis County EMS Association, Selena Xie told FOX 7 Austin four people were transported to Dell Seton Medical Center in an ambulance, and "8 or 9" people were transported by police. 14 people were wounded, Kantor fatally. Some victims did not come forward initially.
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Xie said, "there’s a huge difference in first aid training" between police and EMS, adding there is also "a huge difference in the equipment that we carry."
Xie said barricades and intoxicated crowds make it difficult for ambulances to access Sixth Street "even on normal weekends." The Republic of Texas Motorcycle Rally was underway when the shooting occurred. Bikers crowded the street, making things more difficult for first responders.
Xie says during big events medics often use utility vehicles to zip through crowds, transporting patients to medical tents where ambulances are staged. On Saturday those resources were not in place. Xie says they are only budgeted for very large events, such as SXSW.
"I think Austin is to a size and we know that this summer we’re just going to see huge crowds… so, at this point I do think it’s appropriate and I am calling for (link to funding requests image attached to document) the City to have our medics in [utility vehicles] every single weekend night. Because that will help if we have another event like this. We know it’s going to be more violent and there are going to be more crowds."