Security guard at Austin hotel severely injured in machete attack
Austin TX September 21 2023 A private security guard at the Austin Proper Hotel was attacked by a man wielding a machete last month, according to the Austin Police Association (APA).
It happened in the evening hours of Monday, Aug. 21. APA says officers working downtown responded to a call at the hotel, located at 600 W 2nd Street, and found the suspect, later identified as Justin Bergin, nearby.
Another officer went inside and found the victim lying on the floor. APA said a bystander was trying to help a security guard who had been slashed in the forearm, severing his ulnar nerve and radial artery.
He was losing blood quickly and was beginning to lose consciousness. The officer applied a tourniquet and stabilized him until Austin-Travis County EMS medics could arrive.
APA said Bergin had been loitering in the hotel lobby and the security guard asked him to leave. Bergin walked toward the door, berating the guard and threatening to kill him. When he got outside, he tried unsuccessfully to attack the guard with a glass jar before using the machete.
The victim’s arm was reportedly partially severed in the attack. Staff at Dell Seton Medical Center said he could have bled out, but the officer saved his life, according to APA.
Bergin is charged with Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Harassment of a Public Servant, and Theft. His bond totals $40,000.
Since August 2021, Bergin has had 30 encounters with the police department. He has been arrested nine times just this year, APA said in a statement.
