The last time I recall Austin being this on guard was right before I moved back there in early 1990s. There was a kidnapping from a car wash by a serial killer who had been parolled. Around the same time, there were four teens who were murdered in a yogurt store where they worked, and it was set on fire, as well as a few other serial slashings, etc.
Kenneth McDuff. Sentenced to death. Then the death penalty went away. Some years later, he was released. Big mistake.
After I moved back up to the DFW area in '97 after my stint in Austin/Round Rock, I worked with a gal that drove an old white Mazda Miata. Turns out that it was the one that was left at that car wash.