The gunman who opened hearth outdoors a crowded Texas bar and killed three individuals in an assault that wounded greater than a dozen had not been on the radar of authorities, federal and native investigators mentioned Monday.
The FBI and police in Austin mentioned it’s too quickly to determine the motive behind the mass taking pictures early Sunday that the FBI has mentioned is being investigated as a possible act of terrorism, coming after the US and Israel launched an assault on Iran.
“Our final aim in all the pieces we do is to find out the motive,” Alex Doran, the performing agent answerable for the FBI’s San Antonio workplace, mentioned throughout a information convention.
Police shot and killed the gunman, whom they recognized as 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne. He was sporting garments with an Iranian flag design and bearing the phrases “Property of Allah” throughout the assault, a legislation enforcement official instructed The Related Press.
Investigators are poring over 1000’s of hours of video and police mentioned there are greater than 150 witnesses to interview.
“We’re nonetheless within the early hours of this investigation,” mentioned Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis.
The gunman legally purchased the weapons used within the assault a number of years in the past in San Antonio, Davis mentioned. Extra details about the suspect together with physique digicam footage from the officers might be launched later this week, Davis mentioned.
Taking pictures victims embody school college students
Police recognized the victims as 21-year-old Savitha Shan, 19-year-old Ryder Harrington and 30-year-old Jorge Pederson.
Harrington joined the Beta Theta Pi fraternity at Texas Tech College in 2024, the fraternity mentioned in an Instagram publish.
“Ryder had a uncommon capacity to really take pleasure in life to make individuals chortle, to make moments really feel larger, and to make strange days unforgettable,” the fraternity mentioned. “If anybody embodied what it meant to stay absolutely and love deeply, it was Ryder.”
Texas Tech mentioned in a press release that Harrington had been enrolled as just lately as the autumn 2025 semester, however was not taking lessons this semester.
“Our ideas are with Ryder’s household, buddies, and all these affected by this devastating scenario,” the assertion mentioned.
Shan’s LinkedIn profile listed her as a dual-degree pupil majoring in administration data programs and economics on the College of Texas at Austin.
College President Jim Davis mentioned her dying was “devastating” and that a number of different college students had been wounded within the assault.
“A few of these are very severe and we hope for the most effective outcomes, whereas others are on the trail to restoration,” he mentioned in a press release. “I’ve met with many of those households and can proceed to hope for them.”
Austin Police introduced Monday night that Pederson had died from his accidents.
Official says the gunman got here to the US in 2000
The gunman within the assault was initially from Senegal, in response to a number of individuals briefed on the investigation who spoke on the situation of anonymity as a result of they weren’t licensed to publicly focus on the investigation.
Diagne first entered the US in 2000 on a B-2 vacationer visa and have become a lawful everlasting resident six years later after marrying a US citizen, in response to the Division of Homeland Safety.
Related Press reporters on Monday had been unable to achieve Diagne’s relations within the Austin space or his former spouse, who just lately was listed as residing close to San Antonio. An individual who answered the door at a home listed for his ex-wife declined to remark and instructed a reporter to speak with investigators.
Photographs stopped for a second earlier than erupting once more
The taking pictures started outdoors Buford’s Yard Beer Backyard alongside Sixth Road, a nightlife vacation spot crammed with bars and music golf equipment near the College of Texas at Austin.
The gunman drove previous the bar, which was filled with college students, earlier than circling again and firing the primary pictures from his SUV at individuals on the sidewalk and contained in the bar, police mentioned.
Contained in the bar and throughout the road subsequent to a meals truck, some college students dove for canopy whereas others had been immobile, attempting to grasp what was occurring.
The taking pictures stopped for a second.
The suspect parked, bought out with a rifle and commenced taking pictures at others earlier than officers rushed to the intersection and shot him, the police chief mentioned.
The FBI mentioned simply hours after the taking pictures that they discovered “indicators” on the gunman and in his automobile main them to look into the potential for terrorism.
