José Garza said in a statement that the officers involved “effectively stopped the active mass shooting event that occurred on Sixth Street in Downtown Austin.”
AUSTIN, Texas — The Travis County District Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday it will not take action against the three Austin police officers that were involved in Sunday’s mass shooting on West Sixth Street after formally ending its review of the incident.
Travis County District Attorney José Garza shared a letter he sent to Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis, stating the officers involved “effectively stopped the active mass shooting event that occurred on Sixth Street in Downtown Austin.”
Garza continued by saying “the actions of the APD officers resulted in the death of the shooter, and because the area in which the shooting took place was still heavily populated, these actions undoubtedly saved lives and prevented additional injuries.”
Garza said after the review, which included video evidence, walking the scene and working with APD’s Special Investigations Unit, the situation was “indisputable that at the time the officers were responding to an active shooting in a mass casualty situation, and that the subject of the shooting was in the act of using unlawful deadly force.”
This comes a day after Garza released a statement in response to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s online comments claiming Garza was planning to present the case to a grand jury.
Abbott posted on Monday on his X account that “these police officers are heroes who saved lives,” adding that “whatever the DA does, I will have the final say in the fate of these police officers.” His post came in response to claims that Garza planned to present the case to a grand jury.
Garza said his office is not seeking charges against the officers and called the reports “intentionally false.”
“These officers are heroes, and it should go without saying that my office is not seeking any charges and would not seek charges,” Garza said in a statement. “The accounts to the contrary are false … and are being peddled for obvious political purposes.”
Garza also expressed support for the APD and sympathy for the victims.
“We are proud to work with our partners at the Austin Police Department every day and are so grateful for the bravery that these officers showed,” Garza said. “We also grieve with our community members who lost loved ones during this horrendous act of violence and are disgusted by the leaders in Texas using their deaths to score political points.”
Three people were killed and more than a dozen people were injured when a gunman opened fire outside Buford’s bar around 2 a.m. Sunday. The suspected shooter was killed by police.
Authorities said 30-year-old Jorge Pederson died on Monday after he was taken off life support. Two other victims were identified as 19-year-old Ryder Harrington and 21-year-old Savitha Shan, who was a University of Texas student, according to UT President Jim Davis.