Tipsheet

Austin Newspaper Explains Why It Wouldn't Print Shooting Suspect's Description

Leah Barkoukis
Leah Barkoukis  |  June 14, 2021 8:50 AM

The Austin American-Statesman, the city’s major daily newspaper, attached an editor’s note to its story about a mass shooting over the weekend that injured at least 14 people and killed one, explaining why they couldn’t release details about the suspect’s identity.

“Police have only released a vague description of the suspected shooter as of Saturday morning,” the note said. “The American-Statesman is not including the description as it is too vague at this time to be useful in identifying the shooter and such publication could be harmful in perpetuating stereotypes. If more detailed information is released, we will update our reporting.”

In its original posting, the city of Austin’s Police Department described one suspect(s) at-large as "a black male, with dread locks, wearing a black shirt and a skinny build."

The police department's website was later updated:

"One suspect is in custody at this time. The second suspect remains at large. The Austin Police Department would like to thank the U.S. Marshals Lone Star Fugitive Task Force for assisting with the arrest of this suspect. We continue to work on this case and follow up on leads to apprehend the remaining suspect."

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As Townhall's sister site PJ Media pointed out, there was nothing vague about the police's description of the suspect, which "in fact, dramatically reduced the suspect pool in the Austin area, narrowing it down to black males wearing dreadlocks—or 50% of the 15% black population in the city, if you’re doing the math." This would be helpful information to give the public considering the suspect was at-large.