Update: Gavin Rush was reportedly found dead.
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A Texas attorney is accused of shooting at his ex-girlfriend in broad daylight at her place of employment over the weekend. Gavin Edward Rush, 41, was identified as the man on surveillance footage pulling out a gun at an Austin bar. Two bystanders leapt on him, putting a stop to it all.
Cops said they got a family disturbance call from the Anderson Mill Pub at around 11:37 a.m. on Saturday, according to KVUE. Rush’s ex-girlfriend was working at the business as a bartender when he stopped forward, authorities said.
According to police, the woman said that Rush had found out she started a relationship with someone else. Rush had been threatening to hurt both himself and the other person, she said. She stopped answering his texts.
On Saturday, Rush allegedly put a small leather satchel on the bar and asked his ex to talk to him. She refused. In response, he pulled out a gun and pointed it at her chest, turning on a laser sight. As seen on video, the gun had been in the bag.
Customers tackled him and held him until cop arrived.
The men, requesting anonymity, both spoke to KVUE.
One of them said that Rush came to the pub “a lot,” and had not shown signs of acting like that before.
Things were different on Saturday.
“When he walked in, he already looked like [he was] not in a good place,” the man said.
This video inside of Anderson Mill Pub shows local lawyer Gavin Rush, pulling a gun out on his ex-girlfriend.
Two customers tackled and held him down until police arrived.
This happened Saturday, as of this morning he is out of jail. Bond was set at $40,000 (4,000 to get out). pic.twitter.com/N39IZUD30b
— Daranesha Herron (@Daraneshatv) November 29, 2022
“Every time I watch that video, I just want to throw up, you know,” said one of the men.
“I don’t remember doing this, but I pushed his hand up and the gun went off,” said the other man. “Then we started flying backwards. I turned and grabbed him around the neck and another shot went off.”
One of them said that Rush tried to shoot himself in the head when they were going to the ground. The man claimed to place his finger between the trigger and guard to stop it from firing.
He said that Rush fired three shots. One of these bullets hit the mirror behind Rush’s ex, while another barely missed the intervening customer’s head.
“I’m completely deaf in my left ear right now,” he said.
The men voiced concern for the bartender. One of them was incredulous at the $40,000 bond amount for Rush, assuming that he would only need to pay 10 percent to get out of jail.
“For $4,000, you can get out, go home, watch Netflix after trying to murder your ex-girlfriend – are you kidding me?” said the customer.
Rush was reportedly charged in 2017 with assault/family violence by impeding breath/circulation in Williamson County. The alleged victim in the case was a different woman. The case was dropped after he completed anger management counseling.
Rush is subject to a emergency protection order, records show. His first appearance in court is set for Dec. 19.
The law firm of Peiffer Wolf Carr Kane Conway & Wise said that Rush did not work for them anymore.
“Gavin Rush no longer works at the firm,” said the statement. “We do not tolerate hatred or violence of any kind. Our thoughts are with the victims who experienced a significant trauma that day.”
Note: We added a statement from Rush’s former law firm.
[Mugshot via Travis County; screenshot via KVUE]
