AUSTIN, Texas — Some businesses on Sixth Street say they're concerned about crime in the area, especially after police found a woman in an alley early Monday morning.
The Austin Police Department said at around 1:40 a.m., officers were patrolling in the Sixth Street district when they were informed about a woman who was injured in an alley near the intersection of East Sixth and Neches streets. The woman was bleeding and unresponsive, and she later died at a hospital.
In an update Monday afternoon, Austin police said Shannon Smith was found bleeding in an alley on East Sixth and Neches streets just after 1:30 a.m. She was taken to the hospital where she later died from her injuries.
During their investigation, police learned Smith was armed with a knife and tried to rob a man in a wheelchair of his money and drugs. The man then hit Smith once with a metal rod he was holding, according to police.
Austin police said the man was interviewed and released and that the case is still under investigation by the Travis County District Attorney's office.
Her death is being investigated as Austin's 41st homicide of 2024, though after interviewing a person of interest, police say no charges are being filed at this time.
Mark Frappier is the general manager of Casino El Camino, a popular wing and burger spot that's been in business on Sixth Street for almost 30 years.
"I think about everybody, not only about the tourists but all the people working downtown, living downtown," Frappier said. "It seems to be getting way out of hand. What's our total already, 40-something homicides that we've counted? Crime in general is horrible, but this kind of thing – we are trying to build a community downtown, and it's terrifying people from coming down here for lunch, dinner, entertainment. [It] really hurts the business."
He said something needs to change.
"You know, my guys at night – just like a lot of places, restaurants, bar[s], grills – you know, they're afraid to take trash out in the alley at nights, all up and down, because there is so much activity 24 hours a day," Frappier said. "And it's just very sketchy ... It's just really gotten very bad the last couple of years, more than ever."
He's not the only business owner who has concerns about crime in the area. Ricardo Rodriguez works near the entertainment district and said he's been threatened.
"With a stick, yeah. And it happens, let’s say, once a month," Rodriguez said.
Both Rodriguez and Frappier say they would like to see more law enforcement downtown.
"I would like to see things being prevented and not developing," Rodriguez said.
"It would be very nice to have police presence back in the downtown area, with all the business and the lodgings, the people living here full-time," Frappier said. "It would be very good to have that back and feel safe."