Another Firework Thrown at Iron Bear
Bar says APD is investigating the second incident
By Sarah Marloff, 11:45AM, Thu. Aug. 9, 2018
Updated Friday, August 11, 3:10pm:
Austin Police said they do not believe the Iron Bear was specifically targeted. According to Commander Jennifer Stephenson, over the last six weeks there have been four firework incidents in the Downtown area.
While two occurred at Iron Bear, one was also thrown at the Driskill Hotel, and another near APD's headquarters. "We don’t have comparative suspect data in all three cases to determine whether or not this was the same person(s) involved," Stephenson via email, Friday afternoon. She confirmed the investigation is ongoing.
Early this morning, just after 1am, another firework was thrown onto the patio of Iron Bear, Austin's only bear bar, located on the corner of Eighth and Colorado Streets.
Local policy consultant and activist Steven Rivas told the Chronicle he was inside the bar with his back to the patio when a bright green flash and loud noise went off behind him. He saw thick smoke envelop the patio – a roped off section of Eighth Street's sidewalk.
Rivas, who quickly went outside and called 911 afterward, said one woman claimed to be injured, but did not want to seek medical attention. Iron Bear co-owner Bengie Beshear posted about the incident on Facebook, writing "someone in a black or dark colored car threw a firecracker onto the patio about 1:08am. ... No one on the patio got a description of the car," or a license plate number.
Beshear and Rivas both confirmed that an Austin Police officer did respond to the call and that APD is looking into the incident. This is the second firework to be thrown onto Iron Bear's patio this summer. The first incident took place in the wee hours of June 28.
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