A gunman killed two people and wounded 14 others outside a packed Austin bar early Sunday before police shot him dead, bringing the total to three fatalities.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is now probing whether the rampage constituted an act of terrorism. Acting Special Agent in Charge Alex Doran said his office found troubling evidence tied to the suspect and his vehicle, KVUE reported. The bureau deployed evidence response and digital forensics units to work the scene.
“Obviously it’s still way too early in the process to determine an exact motivation,” Doran said. “But there were indicators that on the subject and in his vehicle that indicate potential nexus to terrorism.” (RELATED: FBI Arrests ‘Key’ Participant In 2012 Benghazi Terror Attack)
The gunman was Ndiaga Diagne, a Senegalese immigrant who “entered the U.S on March 13, 2000, on a B-2 tourist visa. In June 2006, he adjusted to lawful permanent resident (IR-6) based on marriage to a U.S. citizen. He naturalized as a U.S. citizen on April 5, 2013 under the Obama administration. In 2022, he was arrested in Texas for a collision with vehicle damage,” the Department of Homeland Security says.
The attack started shortly before 2 a.m. at Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden on West Sixth Street. Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said Diagne drove a large SUV around the block repeatedly, activated his flashers and opened fire with a pistol toward bar patrons on the patio, according to KVUE. He then left the vehicle near Wood Street and continued firing the handgun at pedestrians before switching to a rifle as he moved along Sixth Street. Officers stationed nearby confronted and killed him. Davis confirmed the attacker never set foot inside the bar, and police recovered only a pistol and rifle.
Diagne wore clothing bearing the phrase “Property of Allah” and may have also been wearing an undershirt displaying an Iranian flag or Iranian imagery, Fox News’ Bill Melugin reported, citing multiple federal law enforcement sources.
Those sources said investigators have not ruled out mental illness as a possible factor alongside terrorism.
Paramedics stationed alongside Austin police through a weekend safety program reached the wounded in under a minute, KVUE reported. Crews cleared all critical patients within 24 minutes.
“There is no question in my mind that the quick response of the police officers and of our EMS personnel and those professionals made a difference and saved lives,” Mayor Kirk Watson said, according to KVUE.
A bomb disposal unit inspected the gunman’s SUV after investigators flagged suspicious items inside, but found no explosives, FOX 7 Austin reported. Police have not publicly identified the suspect.
