There were 37 murders in Austin in 2010 — a 50% increase over 2009 and the highest number of killings since 1997. Fortunately for downtown residents, there were no murders during the year in the downtown area.
In fact, there were no murders in the area bounded by 45th street to the north, Ben White to the south, I-35 to the East, and Ladybird Lake / Lake Austin to the West. The closest murders to downtown were off east 13th street and Riverside Drive — both east of I-35.
The vast majority of Austin murders were in two areas: East Austin between I-35 and 183 and North Austin near Runberg just West of I-35. According to the Statesman, “The most common motive for homicides in 2010 was random quarrels or revenge-motivated killings, police said. Police Cmdr. Julie O’Brien said such homicides include bar fights and drug deals.”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.