A Wednesday morning stabbing that led to the hospitalization of a man -- and this on top of a deadly assault last Friday -- has made Austin's 18% increase in violent crime amid a city-wide homeless crisis all the more obvious.
This morning, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called for an increase in State Troopers to patrol downtown Austin, a city which has long been one of the safest urban areas in the U.S. but has recently seen an uptick in violence that has accompanied a relaxing of homeless camping bans.
"ANOTHER stabbing in downtown Austin — where both the suspect & victim are said to be homeless. How many people will be killed and injured before Austin reforms its homeless policies?" Gov. Abbott's Twitter account stated. "I will have DPS increase law enforcement around downtown & UT [University of Texas] areas."
