Self-Driving Vehicle Blocked Texas Ambulance From Responding To Mass Shooting At Austin Bar

A Waymo prevented an ambulance from responding to the scene after a gunman opened fire outside of a bar in Austin, Texas on early Sunday morning. It would not get out of the way.

The driverless vehicle wedged itself perpendicular to the road and closed both lanes of traffic.

Fortunately, other first responders were able to get there much faster. The Waymo only caused problems for one ambulance— which is one too many.

Two dead, 14 wounded at a shooting in Austin, Texas.

The suspect, whose name has not yet been mad public by authorities, drove past the popular Buford’s Bar on Sixth Street in Austin several times before he stopped and shot a pistol out of his window. He then parked his car, got out with a rifle, and started to unload multiple rounds on people walking in the area.

Nearby law enforcement officers reported to the scene and shot the gunman dead.

Two innocent bystanders were killed in the shooting. 14 others were wounded, including three who remain in critical condition. As tragic as it is, it could have been much worse.

The Austin Police Department deserves the utmost praise for its rapid response to the shooting. A group of three officers were on the scene within 57 seconds of the first shot fired. The gunman lived less than 90 seconds after he opened fire. Paramedics were there just a few moments later.

It was heroic speed.

Federal partners also responded to the incident, which the FBI is currently treating as an act of terrorism. The shooter is believed to be a 15-year naturalized citizen from Senegal. An investigation is underway.

A Waymo stopped an ambulance from responding to the scene.

Waymo officially launched its driverless, public robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, on March 4, 2025. The service recently expanded to cover to cover more than 140 square miles in the Austin area.

The self-driving vehicles are controlled only by an internal computer that goes off of a series of cameras on the outside of the car. There is no override feature. A majority of the employees who are able to assist a vehicle when it gets stuck in an awkward situation are located in foreign countries.

UPDATE: Waymo claims the above sentence is misleading. It would like to add the following information, which I do not believe has any impact on what I said. In fact, it might make it worse.

“When the Waymo vehicle encounters a particular situation on the road, the autonomous driver can reach out to a human fleet response agent for additional information to contextualize its environment. The Waymo Driver does not rely solely on the inputs it receives from the fleet response agent and it is in control of the vehicle at all times.”

That became a serious issue on early Sunday morning. An ambulance that was trying to respond to the shooting on Sixth Street was unable to get by.

UPDATE: Waymo reached out to provide the following context to the incident. It does not at all help to improve the optics of the situation.

“A rider hailed a car for a pickup in the wake of this event. As the Waymo vehicle approached the pickup spot along the same route as other traffic, it encountered emergency personnel. The vehicle immediately began making a U-turn to clear the way, and a nearby officer assisted. We are deeply appreciative of first responders and our shared effort to safety and serving the community.”

The ambulance was completely trapped as a result. It did not have enough room to go around.