Three hospitalized by gun violence; Southeast Austin alt-right gathering devolved into dangerous violence.

Travis County sheriff's office releases statement on shooting, injuring 3

Travis County, TX - In yet another senseless act of gun violence, deputies responded to a shooting that occurred on Sunday evening in the parking lot of the 812 Outdoor Market, southwest of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. The Travis County Sheriff's Office (TCSO) released a statement confirming that an "altercation escalated between several people who know one another," resulting in one person suffering life-threatening injuries and two others with non-life-threatening injuries. All three victims were transported to local hospitals for treatment, and their genders and ages are being withheld at this time.

This shooting is a stark reminder of the easy accessibility of guns and the toxic, hyper-masculine culture that pervades our society, enabling and encouraging violence as a means of conflict resolution. The statement from the TCSO indicates that multiple people were detained at the scene, but no charges have been filed as of yet, as "detectives are still interviewing those detained."

"The shooting occurred after an altercation escalated between several people who know one another. The sheriff's office did not indicate how the people knew each other."

We cannot allow this to become just another statistic. The fact that this shooting occurred in a public space, endangering countless innocent bystanders, is a sobering reminder that we, as a society, have a long way to go in addressing the root causes of gun violence and creating a culture that values dialogue and non-violent conflict resolution.

The ease of access to guns and the toxic culture surrounding their use and glorification must be addressed if we are to have any hope of preventing more tragedies like this from occurring.