Austin police are investigating the city’s 48th and 49th homicides of the year.
Around 8:20 p.m. last night, multiple 911 calls were received in reference to a shoot/stab hotshot call in the 9100 block of Northgate Boulevard. Callers said they heard shots in the area, and a few callers also said someone was shot.
No suspect information is being released at this time and there is no threat to the general public.
One person is dead and two others hospitalized after an incident unfolded in a northwest Austin shopping center parking lot early this morning.
Police responded around 2:45 a.m. in front of the businesses of North Brooke Plaza off of Research Boulevard near Jollyville Road where they found two people with obvious signs of trauma. One person reportedly died at the scene.
In both 2022 and 2023, Austin recorded 66 homicides. As of today, October 1, the city has had 49 murders occur.
Austin fire officials responded to an apartment fire this morning in South Austin.
Austin-Travis County EMS released their activity from last week…
Austin-area serial killer Raul Meza Jr. will spend the rest of his life in prison without any chance of freedom after he pleaded guilty to two murder charges Monday.
Meza pleaded guilty to capital murder with the intent to commit sexual assault in the 2019 death of 65-year-old Gloria Lofton in Austin and to murder in the 2023 slaying of 80-year-old Jesse Fraga in Pflugerville. (Austin American-Statesman)
Texas serial murderer Garcia Glen White is scheduled for execution this week for the murders of 16-year-old identical twin sisters and their mother in 1989. This will be the nation’s sixth execution in a 10-day period. (Austin American-Statesman)
Austin police are seeking the public’s help in locating 24-year-old Juan Antonio Vazquez Jr.
He is a suspect in multiple theft and forgery cases from September 2022 through June 2024. (Fox7 Austin)
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing Travis County, accusing the county of “violating the Texas Open Meetings Act” (TOMA) when it approved taxpayer money for “security services” for Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza’s office. (KXAN-TV)
A new report from the Office of the City Auditor found that a Parks and Recreation Department employee violated city policy by organizing a birthday party at a recreation center he oversaw without reserving or paying the proper fees to use the facility. (Austin Monitor)
An Atlanta man is warning others after he said thousands of dollars worth of items were stolen from inside his hotel room in Austin. (KVUE-TV)
“The initiative will reduce crime in this predominantly Black neighborhood and increase trust in traditional public safety organizations in the 78702, 78721, and 78723 zip codes.“ — Urban Alchemy
Millions of dollars are now being put toward testing what’s being called a new model of community safety in east Austin. National nonprofit Urban Alchemy was awarded a $2 million federal grant by the Department of Justice. (KXAN-TV)
A popular day care in Austin is under fire again after another lawsuit claims to have caught more abuse on camera. (KVUE-TV)
School officials in Florence say classes will resume today after repairs to a water main forced their closure yesterday.
The rash of hoaxes and threats to local schools is having an impact on students learning.
Delta Airlines announced it will add five new nonstop routes from Austin.
Starting in March 2025, Delta will add daily nonstop service to Panama City, Fla. (ECP). Additionally, the airline will add new, nonstop service to Indianapolis (IND), Memphis (MEM), San Francisco (SFO) and Tampa (TPA). (Delta Airlines)
Reconstruction of the MLK Boulevard bridge is set to begin this week, and the bridge will likely be demolished early next year. (Daily Texan)
Some food service and retail workers at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport are getting a bump in their minimum wage a few weeks after authorizing a potential strike. (Austin Business Journal)
200 units of high-quality workforce housing are in the works in Southeast Austin off Lockhart Road. Nearly 110 apartments will be reserved for households with incomes at or below 80% AMI. (Austin Business Journal)
Tickets for Austin’s traditional Trail of Lights, a Christmas light installation held at Zilker Park for two weeks during the holiday season, are now on sale. It will be the event’s 60th year. (Community Impact)
The hot and dry trend continues this week as we move into October.
September was one of Austin’s driest ever. (KUT 90.5)
Forecasters are watching three weather systems, one in the Carribean which could later affect the Gulf states and another system, now named Kirk, out in the Atlantic. A third system is farther out and has the potential to form as a tropical depression in the news few days. (National Hurricane Center)
Desperation is growing in parts of western North Carolina after the remnants of Hurricane Helene killed scores and have left many without utilities, phone service and food and water. (CNN)
Texas is launching its own stock exchange. The official announcement was made yesterday in Austin.
Baylor Scott & White Health and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas have settled a monthslong contract dispute, ensuring the health system’s services will remain in-network for patients insured by Blue Cross. (KUT 90.5)
New data shows Texas leads the nation in rural roadway fatalities. (Austin American-Statesman)
The Texas House Committee on State Affairs met yesterday to discuss the importance of the federal government’s role in securing the border, especially as it pertains to Texas. (CBS Austin)
Dockworkers at ports from Maine to Texas began walking picket lines early Tuesday in a strike over wages and automation that could reignite inflation and cause shortages of goods if it goes on more than a few weeks.
How is ballet order determined in Texas? (KVUE-TV)
Vice presidential candidates Ohio Sen. JD Vance (R) and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) will face off in a debate tonight in New York.
Here’s what you need to know. (Texas Public Radio)
“He’s lying.” — President Joe Biden
Former president Donald Trump visited Georgia yesterday to see the damage caused by Hurricane Helene and made several false claims about the Biden administration’s response to the disaster, drawing rebuke from President Biden himself. (Axios)
With just over five weeks to go until Election Day, the candidates are campaigning in battleground states and making their case for why they should lead the country. (ABC News)
SPORTS
The Texas Longhorns volleyball team is looking to play some matches at the Moody Center. (KXAN-TV)
Major League Baseball’s postseason gets underway today with twelve teams vying for a spot in the World Series.
The Houston Astros are hosting the Detroit Tigers in a best-of-three Wild Card series. Game one is this afternoon. (MLB)
MLB Postseason predictions…
With the Astros beginning postseason play today, let’s take a look inside their home…Houston’s Minute Maid Park.
