Austin police say a 20-year-old man wearing a zombie costume stabbed two people at Buzz Mill Coffee in Austin just before 9 p.m. Wednesday. Both victims were taken to a local hospital, and police later identified the suspect as Shankar Temple Grace.
Buzz Mill Coffee in Austin
Officers and ATCEMS responded to Buzz Mill Coffee at 1505 Town Creek Drive and found two people with stab wounds at the scene. One had life-threatening injuries and the other had non-life-threatening injuries. By Thursday afternoon, both victims were in stable condition.
Police found Grace on a nearby walking trail near Rosewood and Chestnut Avenues and booked him into the Travis County Jail. He was facing two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Court records showed his criminal history in Bastrop County dated back to 2023, with prior charges that included evading arrest, reckless driving and resisting arrest.
Joe Blackman
Joe Blackman, a long-time regular at the coffee shop, said he arrived as the scene was unfolding. “I had just arrived as the incident happened. So, everything was starting to unfold,” he said. Blackman added, “The ambulance was leaving, the police were arriving, and I think there was a real sense of people who were outside of the venue as to what was going on.”
He said the response changed the atmosphere fast. “It's very different when you're there and your heart starts to race and especially something that's unfolding and there's an active, not caught person on the loose,” Blackman said. “You know, it does start to worry you. So, you know, I left the area.”
Christopher Juusola
Christopher Juusola said the attack landed during a period when Austin police were preparing for major downtown crowds. APD said it expected 80,000 to 100,000 people to flock to downtown entertainment districts for Halloween, and it was putting up street closures, anti-vehicle barriers and fencing to keep pedestrian routes open and preserve emergency access lanes.
Juusola tied that planning to the weekend ahead, which included a University of Texas football game, an Austin FC match and the end of Daylight Saving Time. “That’s not something that we normally observe downtown, and I think that one is related to its Halloween people are going to costume parties and that's what caused that to occur,” he said.
He also said, “Usually we are used to visitors consuming alcohol for a certain period of time and if you give them an extra hour to consume alcohol, it's going to cause more problems.” Juusola added, “Usually, with more intoxicated people, we see more fights down on Sixth Street.”
Police said Grace was wearing a zombie costume during the stabbing, but they did not release any information on a potential motive. That leaves the case centered on the charge, the injuries and the response already underway around Halloween crowds in Austin.
