Vagrant encampments in Austin have seen their second murder in three months, increasing public safety concerns from local residents and business owners.
Police said one man was killed Monday in a North Austin homeless encampment after a fight broke out between vagrants. The vagrant suspect, Joshua Daniel, was arrested for murder.
“Officers located a person with obvious signs of trauma, and he appeared to be beyond help,” said Austin Police Officer Alexandra Parker. The man was reportedly stabbed 13 times.
In a press release sent to The Dallas Express, the Austin Police Department said officers responded to the stabbing around 3:19 a.m. on June 19 at the homeless encampment and “found a man who died from several stab wounds a few feet from [Joshua] Daniel.”
“Investigators believe Daniel stabbed the man several times and attempted to dispose of the body by dismemberment and burning,” the statement continued. “Daniel is in the Travis County jail, charged with First Degree Murder.”
When detained by police, Daniel reportedly told officers, “I’m not saying anything, just put the cuffs on.”
In April, another man was killed in a shooting at a South Austin vagrant encampment. These killings come as homelessness and vagrancy continue to exacerbate crime and safety concerns in Austin.
“It seems to be getting worse,” Austin chiropractic office operator Larry Maddalena said while speaking on Fox & Friends.
In 2021, Austin voters banned public encampments, and a Texas law went into effect shortly thereafter that banned them statewide — yet the tent cities remain.
“Three years later, we’re left with a large homeless camp in the Austin area,” Maddalena continued, referencing budget cuts in 2020 that he said “defunded the police” before they were reversed the following year by a Texas law.
“And it seems to just be getting out of control,” he concluded.
He told the New York Post that vagrants have camped near his business since 2021, but the encampment grew to hundreds of people in 2022.
“The city still is not moving fast enough,” he said. “I don’t know what the next step is — multiple people dying?”
Maddalena said the encampment is often strewn with drug needles, and violence is a regular occurrence, but the public only hears about it when someone is killed.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, vagrant encampments have overwhelmed walking trails throughout Austin.
Meanwhile, homelessness and vagrancy persist in Dallas as well, with local parents, in particular, expressing concern about homelessness, vagrancy, and panhandling throughout the city, according to recent polling conducted by The Dallas Express.
While Austin and Dallas wrestle with how to combat this crisis, San Antonio seems to have found success through its partnership with the nonprofit Haven For Hope.
The strategy employed by this partnership is that of a “one-stop-shop” solution that provides housing and supportive services in a single location rather than dispersed throughout the city.
This approach keeps the problem and its potential solutions contained to one area and is favored by Dallas voters, according to polling by The Dallas Express.
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