Austin shooting: Man shot, killed in downtown; police looking for suspects

AUSTIN, Texas - Austin police are looking for two people involved in the deadly shooting of a man in downtown Austin on Monday, March 31.

Surveillance video captured the men running off after the killing.

This is being investigated as Austin’s 12th homicide in 2025.

Austin's 12th murder investigation

What they're saying:

Police said the person who was with the victim when the shooting happened was blind. They were not physically hurt.

"Imagine yourself being in total darkness and somebody being killed right next to you," The American Council of the Blind of Texas President Chris Prentice said.

Austin police said on Monday, around 2 a.m., a blind man was standing next to his friend, Rex Johnson, near East 4th Street and I-35 in Downtown Austin. 

A man then knocked Johnson down to the ground and another man shot and killed him. The suspects ran off.

"It's obviously pretty frightening if you're out walking with a sighted person at night, and they're attacked and subsequently killed, and you're left there to try to figure out what's going on," Prentice said.

Prentice said the blind person probably has valuable information for detectives though.

"You don't have to be able to see someone to identify them," Prentice said. "If the blind person knew these people or had some awareness of them, he could recognize their voices, he could recognize some of the other sounds they made or remember what they said."

He said because the blind person is a potential witness, they need to be protected. The people who did this haven’t been arrested yet.

"Until people are brought to justice because I think they're potentially in danger," Prentice said.

Police are looking for two suspects they said targeted Johnson. They are described as two black males in their late 20s to early 30s. 

Police are also asking for any information to help with this investigation. 

Prentice said as much information as possible about what happened is needed to build this case to ensure the district attorney prosecutes.

"I don't want them to say, well, the only guy we've got is a blind guy, we can't prove this, and basically throw it to the wayside," Prentice said.

Arc of Texas CEO Jennifer Martinez released a statement on the incident:

"We are saddened to hear about this senseless violent attack and loss of life. People with disabilities are at greater risk of violence and this incident is a reminder that we must remain steadfast in our work to stand with the disability community and allies."