Complaining about SXSW has become a bit of a national music lovers’ pastime. But Michael Sanders of Austin indie rock act Löwin has more reason to gripe than most. After catching an opening night set from the band A Giant Dog, the local guitarist was robbed and shot in the shoulder on his walk home.
According to The Austin Chronicle, three masked men holding pistols and an AR-15 rifle jumped Sanders near his home and took his wallet and cell phone. They ran off in the direction of Sanders’ home, and when he moved in the same direction, one of the men turned around and shot him.
“It wasn’t as scary as it was matter of fact and surreal,” he told the paper. “My first thought to myself was ‘Oh my god, he shot me.’ My second thought was realizing that it didn’t hurt as bad as I would have expected.”
Sanders didn’t have a phone to call for help, so he attempted to alert his neighbors. When no one answered the door, he went home and triggered his security alarm before heading to a neighbor’s house who called the 911.
Sanders seems to be in good spirits about the shooting, noting to the paper that the bullet missed major arteries and vital organs.
“As far as getting shot goes, it was a very clean shooting,” he said. “I’m fortunate… because they were trying to kill me.”
