AUSTIN, Texas – Austin police and emergency crews responded to a series of suspected overdoses early Wednesday morning in downtown Austin, with five people affected in an area around the 300 block of East 6th Street.
Austin-Travis County EMS Capt. Stedman said multiple 911 calls began coming in around 2:20 a.m. reporting people experiencing symptoms consistent with an overdose around bars in the area.
Five people were affected, according to ATCEMS. One person was in respiratory arrest when emergency crews arrived.
Naloxone, commonly known by the brand name Narcan, was administered to patients. Stedman said one person required multiple doses.
One person refused transportation to a hospital, while the other patients were hospitalized. All five people were later reported to be in stable condition.
Austin police officers were already staged near the bars along East 6th Street when the calls came in, allowing several officers to quickly respond, APD Corporal Nonweiler said.
Police said the overdoses appear to have been isolated to the area around one bar, Shakespeare’s, though investigators have not determined exactly where the drugs came from.
Officials said the incident appears to involve opioids and are investigating whether the victims were exposed to a potentially dangerous batch of drugs.
Bystanders and residents in the area also administered naloxone before or as emergency crews arrived.
Police are asking anyone with information about who may have supplied the drugs to contact Austin Crime Stoppers at 512-472-8477.
Nonweiler said officers are committed to finding the person responsible for distributing the narcotics.
Officials also encouraged people to have naloxone available, noting that bystanders were among the first to respond during Wednesday morning’s overdoses.
The incident is reminiscent of another multiple-patient overdose Austin experienced in 2024, according to ATCEMS.
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