One UT student captured the moment police killed a mass shooting suspect, just minutes after narrowly escaping the gunfire himself.
AUSTIN, Texas — One University of Texas student captured the moment police killed a mass shooting suspect in Downtown Austin, just minutes after narrowly escaping the gunfire himself.
Nathan Comeaux, a 22-year-old UT senior, had been celebrating a friend’s 21st birthday at Buford’s on West Sixth Street when the shooting began early Sunday morning. He said the bar, packed shoulder to shoulder with students, is more than just a downtown spot.
“Buford’s is the place,” Comeaux said. “It’s really a UT bar. This is our community. This is where we go out and enjoy college.”
Just minutes before shots were fired, Comeaux left to grab pizza across the street. He was sitting down when he heard what he thought were fireworks.
“Nobody was panicking. We’re on West Sixth, the safe part of Sixth Street,” he said.
Then the gunfire continued.
“I crouched behind a bench,” Comeaux said. “Then there was silence and everyone thought it was over.”
Fourteen people were injured and two were killed. As officers with the Austin Police Department arrived, Comeaux began recording, capturing the moment police shot and killed the suspect.
He thanked the police for acting fast and sends condolences to the victims. Now, he said he is still processing how close he came.
“This was as near of a miss that I’ve come to in my life to being shot,” he said. “UT is a big school, but it’s a small community. Everyone knows someone who was affected by this.”
He said one of his friends was shot and later discharged from the hospital.
As students look ahead to the rest of the semester, Comeaux said the violence has changed how they see a place they once considered safe. He hopes APD and Buford’s can work together to stage more police on West Sixth Street.