Police in Texas are investigating a series of opioid overdoses in Austin which has claimed the lives of at least four people, local officials say, warning drug users not to take unknown substances. Dozens were saved by paramedics.
The incident began at around 9 a.m. on Monday when Austin experienced a “sudden surge” in opiod-related overdose calls, with most of them coming from the downtown area. Calls later spread to all parts of the city, including at homes, businesses and areas accessible to the general public.
“Upon our arrival, our team swiftly distributed Narcan rescue kits throughout the area to counteract the effects of the opioid overdoses and provide life-saving intervention to those affected,” Chief A. Carr, of Austin-Travis County EMS, said at a briefing on Monday night.
Heidi Abraham, the agency’s Deputy Medical Director, said the number of overdose calls had reached the “mid-to-high 30s” on Monday night, including four people who were pronounced dead. Others were saved with Narcan rescue kits.
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“It’s thanks to a lot of first responders – like the Austin Police Department – that some of these people are alive today,” Abraham said. “Austin Police Department was first on scene for some of these incidents and administered Narcan. It definitely helped save these folks’ lives.”
Authorities are still investigating the cause of the surge in overdoses, which were continuing on Monday night.
“The initial couple of calls started about 9 o’clock this morning and it’s progressing as we speak,” a spokeswoman said at the briefing. “The calls are still happening, we’re still finding patients. And like I said, the situation continues to evolve.”
“When we see outbreaks like this, the suspicion is that essentially there’s a ‘new batch in town.’ I can’t speak to any investigative pieces but it’s fairly likely that it’s all from the same source or same couple of sources because of the similar signatures that we’re seeing in the symptoms,” she said.
Local owners Kipp and Brooke Koeppel say their reusable containment system is perfect for a growing city like Austin that is also concerned with environmental impact
AUSTIN, Texas, May 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Temporary Wall Systems (TWS), the first and leading full-service, temporary containment wall provider in the United States, will introduce its new Austin, Texas, location at the Austin Build Expo at the Palmer Events Center on May 22-23.
Temporary Wall Systems Austin owners Kipp and Brooke Koeppel will be on-hand at Booth 333 to give out information about the company and will offer a giveaway of a YETI 24 hard cooler.
Temporary Wall Systems Austin owners Kipp and Brooke Koeppel say their reusable containment system is the perfect solution for a growing city with several construction and renovation projects.
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The Koeppels moved to Austin in 2020 after spending several years in Charlotte, North Carolina. The couple met while selling advertising at an Alabama newspaper. Kipp Koeppel then spent the next 15 years in the financial services industry in a variety of positions, including 401(k) recordkeeping, sales and relationship management.
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Brooke Koeppel continued her work in sales before eventually moving on to staffing and then financial advisor recruiting for several large financial institutions.
In addition to their corporate jobs, the couple also invested in real estate and rental properties over the past 14 years, doing a lot of the renovation work themselves. It is with this experience that they saw a need in the market for reliable contractors with a focus on customer service.
After moving to Austin, the couple introduced The Brothers that just do Gutters franchise to the area and have since earned recognition as a “Best Place to Work” by the Austin Business Journal in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
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The couple believes their experience in sales, marketing, recruiting, HR, accounting, operations, home improvement and social media will prove valuable in launching their TWS location.
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Temporary Wall Systems Austin serves the greater Austin area including Buda, Cedar Park, Georgetown, Hutto, Kyle, Lakeway, Leander, Manor, New Braunfels, Pflugerville, Round Rock, San Marcos, and Spicewood.
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Founded in 2017 and franchised since 2022, Temporary Wall Systems (TWS) is the first and leading full-service, rentable containment wall provider in the United States. TWS offers commercial contractors and facilities managers a turnkey alternative to labor-intensive interim containment methods like drywall. Our customers benefit from clean and quiet business continuity during construction, renovation, or maintenance projects in healthcare, public transportation, education, retail, and commercial office facilities. TWS is a brand partner of HomeFront Brands, a platform company of emerging property service franchises. Explore the versatility of Temporary Wall Systems at https://tempwallsystems.com/.
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MEDIA CONTACT: Heather Ripley Ripley PR 865-977-1973 [email protected]
Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Thursday granted a full pardon to a former US Army sergeant and Uber driver who was convicted of murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison for fatally shooting a Black Lives Matter protester in 2020.
Abbott, a Republican, in his pardon proclamation cited the state’s “Stand Your Ground” self-defence law, one of the strongest such measures in the US.
The clemency proclamation was issued shortly after the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole unanimously recommended a pardon for Daniel Perry and restoration of his firearm rights following an investigation that the board conducted at the governor’s request.
Perry, 37, was found guilty in April 2023 of murder in the death of 28-year-old Garrett Foster, a US Air Force veteran who was gunned down at a Black Lives Matter rally in Austin, the state capital, in July 2020.
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Texas Governor Greg Abbott speaks to attendees during the New York Republican State Committee Annual Gala in New York in April. Photo: Reuters
The demonstration came amid a storm of protests across the country against racial injustice and police brutality in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers in May of that year.
Perry has insisted he was acting in self-defence when he shot Foster, asserting that he had no choice but to open fire with his handgun when Foster pointed the AK-47 he was legally carrying at Perry. Perry is white, as was Foster.
Perry was driving in Austin that night and had turned his Uber car onto a street where the demonstrators were marching, leading members of the crowd to believe they were in danger of being assaulted by his vehicle, according to media accounts of the incident.
At trial, the two sides presented conflicting accounts of whether Foster levelled his gun at Perry.
In his pardon proclamation, Abbott said the jury’s verdict in effect “nullified” the state’s “Stand Your Ground” self-defence law. The statute removes a person’s duty to retreat from an unprovoked threat of violence before using deadly force if that person has a right to be there.
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Perry’s lawyer, Doug O’Connell, said the pardon “corrects the courtroom travesty” of his client’s conviction, adding that Perry was “thrilled and elated to be free”.
“Daniel Perry was imprisoned for 372 days and lost the military career he loved,” O’Connell said in the statement, quoted by Austin television station KXAN. “We intend to fight to get Daniel’s military service characterisation upgraded to an honourable discharge.”
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Black Lives Matter protests sweep the globe after police killing of George Floyd in US
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Black Lives Matter protests sweep the globe after police killing of George Floyd in US
According to KXAN, Foster’s fiancée, Whitney Mitchell, shared her reaction in a joint statement with her mother, calling the pardon a “devastating blow” that “reopened deep wounds”.
Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza, a Democrat whose office brought the case against Perry, decried the pardon, saying that the parole board and the governor had “put their politics over justice and made a mockery of our legal system”.
The parole board gave no specific reason for its recommendation, but said its investigation “delved into the intricacies” of Perry’s case, including a review of police reports, court records and witness statements.
AUSTIN — Texas Gov. Greg Abbot issued a full pardon Thursday to a former U.S. Army sergeant convicted of murder for fatally shooting an armed demonstrator in 2020 during nationwide protests against police violence and racial injustice.
Abbott announced the pardon just minutes after the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles disclosed it had made a unanimous recommendation that Daniel Perry be pardoned and have his firearms rights restored. Perry has been held in state prison on a 25-year sentence since his conviction in 2023.
The Republican governor had previously ordered the parole board to review Perry’s case and said earlier that he would sign a pardon if recommended. The board, which is appointed by the governor, announced its unanimous recommendation in a message posted on the agency website, and Abbott’s pardon swiftly followed.
‘I am a racist’: Daniel Perry wrote, shared trove of racist, anti-protester messages
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A jury in Austin had convicted Perry of murder in the death of 28-year-old Garrett Foster, an Air Force veteran who had been legally carrying an AK-47 while marching in a Black Lives Matter protest. Perry was working as a ride-share driver in July 2020, when he turned his car onto a street crowded with demonstrators and shot Foster before driving off.
When reached by phone Wednesday, Foster’s father, Steve, said the pardon “makes no sense.”
“Looks like our justice system comes down to one person,” Steve Foster said, referring to Abbott. “A jury of peers doesn’t matter anymore… Let’s hope he doesn’t do anything again.”
Whitney Mitchell and Garrett Foster, both 28, pose for a picture provided by Mitchell’s mother Patricia Kirven. Kirven and Sheila Foster, Garrett Foster’s mother, say he was shot and killed at a protest in Austin, Texas on Saturday, July 25, 2020. Mitchell, a quadruple amputee, was not physically hurt.(Courtesy of Patricia Kirven / Courtesy of Patricia Kirven)
Abbott’s demand for a review of Perry’s case followed pressure from former Fox News star Tucker Carlson, who on national television had urged the Republican governor to intervene after the sergeant was convicted at trial in April 2022. Perry was sentenced to 25 years in prison after prosecutors used his social media history and text messages to portray him as a racist who may commit violence again.
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Prosecutors argued at trial that Perry could have driven away without opening fire, and witnesses testified that they never saw Foster raise his gun. The sergeant’s defense attorneys argued Foster, who is white, did raise the rifle and that Perry had no choice but to shoot.
Father of BLM protester slain by Daniel Perry speaks out after Abbott pushes for pardon
Perry, who is also white, did not take the witness stand, and jurors deliberated for two days before finding him guilty.
