Richard Barr, a 29-year-old Black male from Austin, Texas, was killed on the night of April 10, 2026, after a shooting outside the Cabana Club at 5012 East 7th Street in East Austin. Austin police said officers were called to the club at about 8:40 p.m. for a reported shooting and found Barr suffering from gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
An autopsy performed the next day by the Travis County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed that Barr died from a gunshot wound, and his death was ruled a homicide.
According to investigators, the violence began with a physical altercation in the parking lot outside the club. Police said the confrontation escalated when 21-year-old Ryan Lara allegedly pulled out a gun and fired. Barr was not described as the person fighting with Lara. Authorities said Barr had been moving away from Lara and across the parking lot when he was shot in the back. Two other people in the same group were also shot and taken to Dell Seton Medical Center; one remained in critical condition after the shooting, while the other was later released.
Witness accounts described the fight as having largely broken up before the gunfire began. One witness told investigators that Lara had been arguing and fighting with another man, and when that fight ended, Lara allegedly pulled out a gun and began shooting randomly. After the shooting, police located Lara a short time later at a medical clinic on South I-35, where he had called 911. He reportedly told officers that he had been jumped and needed to defend himself, and that he had used his gun. Lara was treated for minor injuries, detained, and taken to Austin Police Department headquarters, where he invoked his right to an attorney and declined to be interviewed.
Ryan Jay Lara was arrested and charged with murder, a first-degree felony, in connection with Barr's death. A local gun store owner, Michael Cargill of Central Texas Gun Works, publicly said two of his employees were involved in the incident, stating that one employee was hospitalized and the other was being charged with murder. Cargill claimed the employees had been attacked and that Lara acted in self-defense, but Austin police said their investigation showed Barr was moving away when he was shot, and police identified Lara as the arrested suspect.
Barr's killing was investigated as Austin's 20th homicide of 2026. Police said homicide detectives and crime scene specialists responded to the scene, interviewed witnesses, and continued seeking information, including trying to contact a potential associate of Lara. As of the available reports, Lara was the only named suspect and the only person reported arrested in connection with Barr's death.
