Up to 100,000 people packed Sixth Street on Halloween. One person was shot early Sunday

Halloween night on East Sixth Street drew crowds police had estimated at 80,000 to 100,000, and it ended with one shooting. One person was shot around 1:37 a.m. Sunday at the Voodoo Room on East Sixth Street, CBS Austin reported. Police said the person was hit in a lower extremity and taken to a hospital, and that the injury did not appear serious.

The Austin Police Department is investigating the shooting as an aggravated assault, the station reported. Officers were told two people might have been shot but found one victim. Police had reported no arrest. Because clocks fell back an hour at 2 a.m., police told CBS Austin they could not yet confirm whether the shooting happened before or after the time change.

For people who live and work downtown, it was the city's first big test of its weekend safety plan since the March 1 mass shooting on West Sixth Street.

The night

FOX 7 Austin reported that up to 100,000 people filled East Sixth, with barricades along the street, extra patrol officers and police watching from HALO (High Activity Location Observation) cameras. Halloween fell on a Saturday, the same night as the University of Texas home game against Mississippi State.

APD's downtown commander told CBS Austin before the night began that police, fire and EMS were working under a unified command. The station also reported that police and EMS had handed out naloxone kits to downtown bars after five suspected overdoses near a downtown bar last month, four of which led to hospital stays.

Our Oct. 30 story lists the street closures, the "no refusal" drunken driving policy and the bans on glass and weapons that were in effect.

What our records add

Last year's crowd. At the council's Mobility Committee on Nov. 13, 2025, an APD official said Halloween 2025 was probably the busiest night downtown in 15 to 20 years.

After March. At the Public Safety Committee on April 29, police leaders described the public safety zone on East Sixth used as a staging point for police, fire and EMS, and said APD had designated a second zone on West Sixth.

What it costs. Police Chief Lisa Davis told the same committee on Aug. 3 that 14% of APD's overtime goes to public safety initiatives, including weekend closures of Sixth Street. Most overtime, she said, backfills more than 300 vacant sworn positions.

Overdoses. City health officials told the council in an Oct. 26 memo that opioid deaths in Travis County are down 35%, but that EMS still sees high numbers of drug poisonings. Our story on that memo has the details.

Who oversees this. East Sixth Street is in District 9, represented by Council Member Zo Qadri, whose seat is on Tuesday's ballot. Our District 9 guide covers the race.

What's next

APD said the investigation is ongoing. Police typically release more information, including any arrest, through the department's news releases. The council's Public Safety Committee receives regular briefings from the department, and the city's Public Safety Commission, an advisory board, meets Monday, Nov. 2, according to its agenda. Its agenda does not include a downtown item, but its October minutes list "recent events in Austin related to public safety" as a possible future topic.