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AUSTIN, Texas – A man is facing two felonies after allegedly stabbing two people at an E. Riverside-area coffee shop while wearing a Halloween costume Wednesday night.
20-year-old Shankar Temple Grace is facing two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and is still in the Travis County Jail as of Thursday afternoon.
What we know:
Just before 9 p.m., Austin police officers responded to Buzz Mill Coffee at 1505 Town Creek Drive for a disturbance.
Officers and ATCEMS found two people with stab wounds. Both were taken to a local hospital, one with life-threatening injuries and the other with non-life-threatening injuries. They are currently in stable condition.
Officers searched the area and found a suspect on a nearby walking trail near Rosewood and Chestnut Avenues. That suspect was later identified as Grace and booked into the Travis County Jail.
Local perspective:
Joe Blackman, a long-time regular at Buzz Mill Coffee, arrived at the scene just as emergency personnel responded.
“I had just arrived as the incident happened. So, everything was starting to unfold,” Blackman said. “The ambulance was leaving, the police were arriving, and I think there was a real sense of people who were outside of the venue as to what was going on.”
“It’s very different when you’re there and your heart starts to race and especially something that’s unfolding and there’s an active, not caught person on the loose,” Blackman added. “You know, it does start to worry you. So, you know, I left the area.”
Dig deeper:
According to court records, Grace has a criminal history in Bastrop County dating back to 2023, with prior charges including evading arrest, reckless driving, and resisting arrest.
What we don’t know:
Police did not release any information on a potential motive in the stabbing.
What you can do:
Anyone with any information should contact APD’s Aggravated Assault unit at 512-974-5245.
Austin police prepare for upcoming Halloween weekend
Big picture view:
The Austin Police Department confirmed Grace was wearing a zombie costume during the stabbing. While APD does not typically see individuals capitalizing on costumes to commit crimes, officials acknowledged the seasonal timing.
“That’s not something that we normally observe downtown, and I think that one is related to its Halloween people are going to costume parties and that’s what caused that to occur,” Christopher Juusola of the Austin Police Department said during a press conference.
The stabbing comes as APD prepares for an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 people to flock to downtown entertainment districts for Halloween. To manage the massive crowds, police are implementing street closures, anti-vehicle barriers, and fencing to safeguard pedestrians and keep emergency access lanes open.
Logistics will be further tested by a confluence of major weekend events, including a University of Texas football game, an Austin FC match, and the end of Daylight Saving Time. Police noted that gaining an extra hour overnight presents additional safety challenges.
“It’s a tremendous deal for us,” an APD representative said. “Usually we are used to visitors consuming alcohol for a certain period of time and if you give them an extra hour to consume alcohol, it’s going to cause more problems. Usually, with more intoxicated people, we see more fights down on Sixth Street,” said Juusola.
Police also issued a key safety tip for late-night partygoers: rideshare drivers will not have access to 6th Street during the closures, so passengers should plan to meet their drivers on either 5th Street or 7th Street.
Despite the frightening scene at his neighborhood hangout, Blackman expressed resolve as the weekend approached.
“There’s always going to be bad people, right?” Blackman said. “But that can’t stop us going about our daily lives and having fun.”
The Source: Information in the report comes from the Austin Police Department, interviews with locals and reporting by FOX 7 Austin’s Jenna King
