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A gunman opened fire outside a bar in Austin’s West Sixth Street entertainment district shortly before 2 a.m. Sunday, killing two people and injuring 14 others, authorities said.
Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said the suspected gunman drove a large SUV around the block several times before the attack. He then rolled down the windows and began firing a pistol, striking patrons at the bar.
The gunman then parked, exited the vehicle and continued shooting with a rifle, police said.
Paramedics and police arrived within a minute after the first 911 call, Davis said. Officers fatally shot the suspected gunman at the scene.
Here’s what we know so far.
Who were the victims?
Authorities identified the victims as 24-year-old Saditha Shan and 19-year-old Ryder Harrington, a student at Texas Tech University.
“It is unfair, to say the least, that my little brother was only given 19 years on this earth,” his brother, Reed Harrington, wrote on Facebook. “Watching the man he had become, and seeing all the lives he touched, leaves me certain that this world was robbed of a great future.”
Three people injured during the shooting remained in critical condition Monday, though one is expected to be taken off life support later today, Davis said during a Monday news conference.
Who was the gunman?
Austin police identified the gunman as Ndiaga Diagne, a 53-year-old man originally from Senegal.
The Department of Homeland Security said Diagne entered the United States on a tourist visa in 2000, became a lawful permanent resident in 2006 after marrying a U.S. citizen and became a naturalized citizen in 2013.
In 2017, Diagne legally purchased the guns he used in the shooting in San Antonio, Davis said.
Diagne was arrested in 2022 on a misdemeanor charge of “collision with vehicle damage,” typically issued when a driver leaves the scene of a crash.
The New York Post reported Diagne was arrested for “illegal vending” in New York City in 2001. Citing unnamed sources, the tabloid said he was arrested in New York three other times between 2008 and 2016, but those records are sealed. The Post did not report on whether he was convicted of any crimes.
Authorities said they expect to release more information on Diagne’s criminal history on Thursday as well as body camera footage and other details related to the officer-involved shooting that led to Diagne’s death.
What was the motive?
Investigators have not announced a motive. However, Alex Doran, acting special agent in charge of FBI San Antonio, said there were indicators that the shooting could be related to terrorism.
Diagne wore a sweatshirt emblazoned with the words “Property of Allah” and a shirt with a design of the Iranian flag, according to the Associated Press. The shooting came hours after the United States and Israel carried out airstrikes in Iran.
What are elected officials saying?
Reactions from Texas politicians have largely fallen along partisan lines. Democrats are calling for stricter gun laws, while some Republicans have focused on the gunman’s immigration history.
After Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico called for proposals such as universal background checks, red flag laws and closing the gun show loopholes that allow for the private sales of firearms at gunshows, Gov. Greg Abbott said the problem wasn’t gun laws but with “unvetted” immigration.
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