AUSTIN (KXAN) — A teenager is recuperating in the hospital after he was attacked by another man with a machete at Auditorium Shores in downtown Austin Tuesday.
The Austin Police Department arrested 24-year-old Ashton Kaine Talley for his alleged involvement in the attack. Police documents identified the victim as Gregory “Seth” Gott.
Police arrested and charged Talley with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and one count of evading arrest, APD officials said Wednesday. But is it illegal to carry a machete in the first place?
In September 2017, a new Texas law removed prohibitions on certain knives that had previously prevented them from being carried statewide, per Texas Tribune reporting. Any adult age 18 and older can lawfully carry a knife, machete, saber, spear, sword or other blade, per the Fort Worth-based Law Office of Kyle Whitaker.
Since that law, there’s no such thing as an “illegal knife” in Texas — however, the new law stipulated “location-restricted” knives that were banned from certain places.
A “location-restricted” knife applies to blades larger than 5.5 inches, per legal resource Lawteryx. Those larger blades are restricted at places like:
Airports
Amusement parks
Bars
Colleges and universities
Correctional facilities
Government buildings
Hospitals and mental hospitals
Places of worship
Polling places
Racetracks
Sporting event facilities
Schools or school-sponsored events
Those found in possession of a restricted knife in one of the qualifying establishments can face a Class C misdemeanor or a third-degree felony, if it’s at a bar, Lawteryx said. There aren’t any laws in effect in Texas restricting people from carrying a bade less than 5.5 inches.
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