Man shot and killed at Austin protest

A man was shot and killed during a protest in Austin, Texas, on Saturday night, according to police.

Officers were on scene monitoring the protests when shots were fired around 9:52 p.m., Austin police spokesperson Katrina Ratcliff said during a briefing. 

One victims was located and transported to a hospital and announced deceased shortly after, Ratcliff said. 

The suspect has been detained and is “cooperating with officers,” Ratcliff said. 

The spokesperson also said an initial report indicated the victim may have been carrying a rifle and approached the suspect’s vehicle before he was shot by the driver. 

Police are not naming the man who was shot, but Sheila Foster told ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Sunday that it was her son, Garrett Foster. 

She said her son and his fiancée had been participating at the protest in downtown Austin on Saturday, as they had for about the last 50 days. 

Sheila Foster said a friend reached out to let her know that Garret Foster had been shot. 

She said she hadn’t spoken to her son yesterday but had texted him. She said she spoke to him two days ago. 

“He’s actually told me they were extremely peaceful and that he hadn’t experienced any of the negative stuff that we’re seeing sometimes in the media,” she said, referring to the nature of the protests her son was participating in. 

“He was doing it because he feels really strongly about justice and he’s very heavily against police brutality, and he wanted to support his fiancée, his fiancée, is an African American, they’ve been together since they were 17-years-old,” she added. “And he just felt really strongly about the justice of everything.”