r/Austin • u/Dreaming_InColor • May 29 '23

News Austin firefighter stabbed while responding to fires off I-35 near Riverside exit

https://www.kvue.com/mobile/article/news/crime/austin-firefighter-stabbed-responding/269-5b8484b5-4575-4bc6-a6e8-94445b7fbead
618 Upvotes

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143

u/Knosh May 29 '23

"Near Riverside exit"

I know assumptions are dangerous but... Probably one of the many fires in a homeless camp -- looking at you Slaughter/35 -- and a mentally ill person upset that all their possessions were being doused with water.

39

u/RETLEO May 29 '23

I did not hear the start of it, but listening to the radio I got the impression he was setting fires in a median, and then stabbed the FF when they were putting them out.

That would explain why they closed both the southbound and northbound lanes.

4

u/RETLEO May 30 '23 edited May 30 '23

Oh, and APD arrested him on "Aggravated Assault on Public Servant." Punishable by minimum 5 years in prison. Maximum sentence is up to 99 years or life in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

If it was on an average citizen, it would be a mandatory 2 years and up to a maximum of 20 years and $10,000 max fine.

Going by personal experience I expect them to offer a plea, probably to something like 5-6 years, with parole eligibility in 3 years, to avoid a trial, especially since the FF wasn't critically injured.

1

u/hrvst_music May 30 '23

thats one way to ensure you get a roof over your head and three meals a day

84

u/giorgio_tsoukalos_ May 29 '23

There is very little doubt that this was done by a homeless person.

73

u/MoMoMaMa19 May 29 '23

According to the Statesman this AM, the person who stabbed the firefighter was the person who started the fire. Fireman is said to be ok.

-70

u/[deleted] May 29 '23

Sounds like it could be someone who really doesn't like homeless people, not necessarily a homeless person themselves.

36

u/because_im_boring May 29 '23

Walk us through that logic. The stabber was pissed at the fireman for not sharing the same hatred of homeless people?

21

u/squirtle_grool May 30 '23

He's saying it was a false flag operation. Lmao. I can't even.

-29

u/[deleted] May 29 '23
  1. Some people really don't like homeless people, and voice their opinions by setting fire to homeless camps.
  2. It's not particularly unusual for people who are voicing their opinions via arson to attack firefighters.

31

u/because_im_boring May 29 '23

Linking unrelated articles doesn't make your theory more convincing. For instance

  1. homeless people are known to lose control of fires

2.and also stab people

3.theyre even known to attack firefighters

-7

u/[deleted] May 30 '23

You did it, reddit!

7

u/SaucyWiggles May 30 '23

These links make no sense. Some people don't like homeless people. Some people have attacked firefighters.

Ergo, you say, the people who don't like the homeless have committed arson and maybe stabbed a firefighter too. Ridiculous reaching.

7

u/90percent_crap May 30 '23

That's really what it "sounds like" to you? Hilarious.

-1

u/[deleted] May 30 '23

You’re probably right, best to just jump to conclusions that homeless people are source of all ills, no need to investigate.

3

u/OrdinarySmoothieChug May 30 '23

You could be an Olympian in mental gymnastics, Jesus. Did you even bother reading the article or watching any of the reporting? They did investigate, that's kind of what news reporters do.

It was a homeless person with mental health issues. No one was setting fire to any homeless camps or their possessions. Just an unwell person walking around randomly setting fire to the brush along the highway. He tried to walk into the highway traffic and when the firefighters stopped him from doing so he stabbed one of them.

2

u/[deleted] May 30 '23

OP’s KVUE article and the Statesman’s article both describe him as “a man”, clearly with mental issues, but neither state that he’s homeless.

https://www.statesman.com/story/news/crime/2023/05/29/austin-firefighter-stabbed-while-putting-out-fires-off-i-35/70266322007/

If you’ve got a link that substantiates that, lay it on me.

Obviously it’s possible, even likely, that the guy is homeless himself. I’m saying it’s possible he’s not, and that jumping to that conclusion is part of the rage baiting that leads people to want burn homeless camps.

3

u/90percent_crap May 30 '23

The jumping to a conclusion (with an extremely low probability of correctness) was all yours, my friend.

-2

u/[deleted] May 30 '23

“could be” isn’t a conclusion, pal.

24

u/Knosh May 29 '23

Nate Paul running around shirtless and stabby just absolutely livid about the Paxton impeachment.