Police identified suspects for the tragic car accident at SXSW this morning. SXSW give speech.
Following yesterday’s tragic car accident at SXSW that leads to two deaths and 23 injuries, the police has identified the suspect. Rashad Charjuan Owens a 21-year-old man from Killeen, Texas, is believed to be responsible for the deaths and injuries. He has been taking into custody Thursday morning and will face two counts of capital murder and 23 counts of aggravated assault, according to a spokeswoman for the Austin Police Department.
SXSW organizer has also made a full statement today, and expressed that the festival will continue despite the tragedy.
The SXSW staff is stunned and deeply moved by the events of last night.
Dozens of us were on the scene when the incident occurred and we worked closely with APD to create a perimeter around the area, turning back all the visitors spilling out of the clubs who headed north on Red River Street.
To avoid confusion we plan to carry on with our scheduled daytime events at the Austin Convention Center in order to serve our tens of thousands of participants during this tragic time.
All of the SXSW staff and volunteers reported for their regular duties this morning and will continue working today on the event.
We are contacting all of the venues to find out if they have made any decisions about their operations that might impact our visitors.
Despite all of our preparations for dealing with a major incident during SXSW, nothing could really prepare us for how this feels. As much as we would like to just go home and spend time absorbing the shock of this horrific event, we feel our best use is to continue to operate today.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the injured and with the families of the fatalities.
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