Update: Killeen man facing capital murder charges in fatal SXSW crash

Rashad Owens, the suspect in the SXSW wreck, is seen in an undated booking mug provided Friday, March 14, 2014.

Rashad Owens, the suspect in the SXSW wreck, is seen in an undated booking mug provided Friday, March 14, 2014. Photo: Courtesy Photo: Courtesy Image 1 of / 80 Caption Close Update: Killeen man facing capital murder charges in fatal SXSW crash 1 / 80 Back to Gallery

AUSTIN — A suspect who police say killed two people when he mowed down a festival crowd at Thursday's South by Southwest festival has been identified as a 21-year-old Killeen man.

Rashad Charjuan Owens is expected to be charged with two counts of capital murder and 23 counts of aggravated assault with a vehicle, according to a police source.

Owens is suspected of driving drunk and has been booked but not yet formally charged.

He remained in police custody while being treated at a local hospital and was released to officers, officials said.

Two festival-goers, including a woman from Austin and a man from The Netherlands, were killed and 23 more were injured early Thursday after the suspected drunken driver rammed through a police barricade in downtown Austin.

According to reports, Owens fled from police after an attempted traffic stop at a gas station about three blocks from where the crowd was standing outside a music venue.

Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell said this is the first time in its 27 years that SXSW has had an incident of this kind., calling it “tragic.”

Roland Swenson of SXSW said those involved with the organization are stunned and deeply moved by the event. He said they plan to carry on with scheduled daytime events at the Austin Convention Center to keep the tens of thousands of participants from outside the city occupied.

He said they would like to “just go home” and absorb the shock of “this horrific event” but that they believe their best use is to continue to operate.

Acevedo expressed support for carrying on.

“If you were to cancel events, it would be a victory for evil,” he said.

Asked if there were concerns about the barricades, Acevedo said they will always assess such situations but “an individual that's willing to drive down a street mowing people down is either going to crash through a barricade or go around a barricade.”

Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo described a large crowd on the street, in line for a concert at The Mohawk on 10th and Red River Street. Many festival attendees also had just left another show at nearby Stubb's minutes before.

Hundreds of pedestrians were still on the street at the time, as rapper Tyler the Creator was due to perform. Downtown Austin is packed during South by Southwest, as more than 2,000 bands are registered for the annual festival. Much of Red River Street is closed to traffic because some of the city's most popular venues line the street.

Legendary California-based punk rock band X was playing inside The Mohawk at the time of the incident, and the club was filled to capacity. Because of the loud music, those inside the club were unaware of the disaster that occurred outside, a few feet away.

The incident, which lasted for just a minute, began at 12:30 a.m. when an APD officer attempted to pull over a suspected drunken driver into a downtown gas station, just off Interstate 35, Acevedo said. The suspect fled, weaving through traffic at the gas station, then drove the wrong way down a one-way street, Ninth Street, before turning onto a crowded Red River Street. An officer at the Red River barricade had to jump out of the way.

The suspect continued north, through two blocks of pedestrian traffic, before hitting the moped, a taxi, a parked van, and running into a curb, according to Acevedo. The driver attempted to run away when a police officer shocked him with a stun gun.

The Austin Police Department reported 966 DWI incidents citywide this year through February, down 10 percent from the same time period last year.

More Information Prayer Service for SXSW crash victims When: Thursday, 5:30 p.m. Where: Labyrinth garden at St. David's Episcopal Church, 301 E. 8th St.

Police reported 585 DWI incidents citywide during March 2013, up 3 percent from March 2012. South by Southwest is held every March.

According to the Austin Police Department's last annual report, dated 2012, the city had 22 fatal crashes that year involving an alcohol-impaired driver, up from 10 the year before. That amounts to 29 percent of all fatal crashes, up from 21 percent the year before.

By contrast, the San Antonio Police Department reported a total of 60 alcohol-related traffic fatalities last year and 48 in 2012.

Acevedo made a plea for any witnesses to contact the Austin Police Department at 512-974-5186 or police3@austintexas.gov.

Staff writers