West Sixth Street Implements Safety Measures After Mass Shooting

A growing memorial of flowers, candles and photographs honors the victims of the mass shooting outside Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden in Austin on Thursday, March 5, 2026. Ryder Harrington, 19; Savitha Shan, 21; and Jorge Pederson, 30, were killed in the shooting early Sunday. The gunman also died.

Businesses along West Sixth Street's entertainment district began welcoming patrons on Friday afternoon, just days after a mass shooting at Buford's bar that left four people dead, including the shooter. Bars along the nightlife corridor were preparing for the first weekend of business since the early Sunday morning shooting.

Passersby continued to stop at the growing memorial outside Buford's. One man, wearing a flannel and dark sunglasses, placed yellow flowers beneath a photo of Jorge Munoz-Pederson, one of the victims killed in the attack.

Nearby, an employee outside Buford’s removed yellow and green metallic streamers from the bar’s front deck as businesses along the block prepared to open for the first weekend since the shooting.

Staff at Buford's announced it would reopen on Friday, writing in an Instagram post that the decision came after "many conversations with our staff." The statement described Buford's as "home for many in our community," adding that returning to a sense of routine and togetherness — while difficult — can be an important part of healing.

Buford’s staff said they have been coordinating with law enforcement and city leaders to ensure the bar reopens "as safely as possible." The bar is also installing protective glass in its beer garden as an added safety measure.

Parlor & Yard, a neighboring bar, said on Instagram that a portion of its weekend sales will be donated to help those affected. "We love y'all, Austin," the Friday post read. "West Sixth Strong."

Star Bar was open early Friday afternoon and thanked its patrons for reaching out and checking on the team in the days after the attack. "We love our neighbors and are grateful to be a part of such a caring community," the statement read. "Please take care of each other."

Businesses in the entertainment district are reportedly considering hosting an event, such as a benefit, after the South by Southwest Conference and Festival to support Buford's and those affected by the shooting.

Sylvia Alkis, left, and Susan Crum, volunteers with Lutheran Church Charities, place three wooden crosses at a growing memorial for the victims of the mass shooting outside Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden in Austin on Thursday, March 5, 2026. Three people were killed in the shooting early Sunday. The gunman also died.

City officials say additional safety resources will be in place in the downtown entertainment district this weekend. There will reportedly be increased police presence near Sixth Street and Rio Grande Street, and Rio Grande will close to through traffic from Sixth Street to the alley from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. Friday and Saturday, according to the post.

Austin-Travis County EMS Captain Christa Stedman, like Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis, pointed to the partnership between the Austin Police Department, Austin Fire Department and Austin-Travis County EMS that pairs officers with paramedics to address life-threatening emergencies quickly.

"The way you saw them operate last weekend, the reason we got on the scene and started providing care within 57 seconds is all because that program worked exactly the way it was designed to," Stedman told the American-Statesman on Friday. Stedman emphasized that the program is active every weekend.

In a press conference earlier in the week, Davis said a CAST unit, one of the agency's teams trained specifically to respond to active-shooter situations and other high-risk violent incidents, is assigned to the downtown entertainment district every weekend to ensure a rapid first-responder presence in a critical situation.

"They sit in this very room every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night to address potential threat concerns from our entertainment areas," Davis said at the Monday news conference. "Where there are large crowds, we are there and prepared."

Law enforcement officials and Austin Mayor Kirk Watson also pointed to city-led public safety initiatives such as “Safer Sixth Street” and the EMS “Downtown Area Command.”

The Safer Sixth Street initiative came as a direct response to another mass shooting nearly five years ago on Sixth Street. In the early hours of June 12, 2021, a gunman opened fire in the 400 block of East Sixth Street, leaving one dead and 13 injured.

The Austin City Council launched the program to bring brighter street lighting, stricter enforcement against underage alcohol use, and a dedicated EMS presence on Sixth Street on weekend nights.

In October 2024, the council unveiled the Downtown Area Command, which stations EMS medics and vehicles downtown during weekend nights and special events, in response to multiple reported drownings in Lady Bird Lake.

The city also moved to reopen Sixth Street to vehicle traffic on weekends just over a year ago, reversing street closures that had been enforced for years to accommodate dense foot traffic.

"The recommendations coming from the professionals in EMS said they wanted and needed that sort of thing so we would be better ready if, God forbid, there was a situation like this," Watson said at the Monday press conference. "We think that also played a significant role," the mayor added in reference to the CAST units.