Several People Stabbed In Attack At UT Austin

At least one person is dead and several are injured following a stabbing at UT Austin in Texas on Monday, according to the Dallas Morning News. University Police told the Austin American-Statesman that a suspect is in custody and that, while the public and campus isn't currently at risk, the area of 21st Street and Speedway should be avoided. The Austin Police Department tweeted that the stabbing was reported near Gregory Gym.

UT Austin Police tweeted that the suspect was taken into custody "for stabbing two suspects and assaulting a third," and that one of the stabbing victims has died of their wounds. The Austin-Travis County EMS wrote in a tweet that as many as four people total may have been stabbed. Although it's still unclear precisely what happened, a witness told CBS Austin that she was ordering from a food truck when a man grabbed the person next to her from behind and stabbed him.

Students at the school received a text from UT police telling them that there is "no additional immediate threat to campus," and were soon informed that all classes and events scheduled for the rest of the day had been canceled.

Police first responded to the incident near Gregory Gym at around 1:46 p.m., the Statesman reported, at the 2100 block of Speedway. They were soon joined by about a dozen additional police units. EMS tweeted that three people with potentially serious injuries have been taken to University Medical Center Brackenridge, while one or two others with minor injuries have not been hospitalized.

“Our prayers go out to all those affected by today’s tragic events,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement. “I have been briefed by the Department of Public Safety on both incidents, and have also talked to University of Texas at Austin President Greg Fenves. As the investigations into these heinous crimes continue, I have offered all available state resources to both Dallas and the University of Texas to assist in any effort.”

At around the same time as the stabbing, a banner reading "Tuition pays for bombs" was unfurled over a pedestrian bridge between two university buildings, according to the Dallas Morning News. Although the UT Student Government tweeted that one of these buildings had been evacuated due to a bomb threat, the school disputed this, with the Moody College of Communication tweeting that the building in question "is not under lockdown and is open." It's unclear whether the incidents are related.