Gambiaj.com – (AUSTIN, Texas) – The gunman who killed two people and wounded 14 others in a shooting at a bar in Austin early Sunday has been identified as 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne, according to a law enforcement official and another person familiar with the investigation.
Diagne, originally from Senegal, came to the United States in 2006 and later became a naturalized U.S. citizen, multiple individuals briefed on the investigation told the Associated Press.
Authorities said officers shot and killed Diagne at the scene. According to police, he used both a pistol and a rifle during the attack.
The shooting occurred just before 2 a.m. outside Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden along Sixth Street, a bustling nightlife district located a few miles from the University of Texas at Austin.
Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said the suspect drove past the bar several times before stopping and firing a pistol from the window of his SUV at people gathered on a patio and in front of the venue. He then parked, exited the vehicle armed with a rifle, and began shooting at pedestrians in the area.
Responding officers confronted and fatally shot him at the intersection, Davis said.
A law enforcement official told the Associated Press that Diagne was wearing a sweatshirt bearing the words “Property of Allah” and another shirt featuring an Iranian flag design at the time of the attack.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation said the shooting is being investigated as a potential act of terrorism. However, Alex Doran, acting special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Antonio office, cautioned that it remains too early to determine a definitive motive.
“It’s still too early to make a determination on that,” Doran said.
The incident marks the latest outbreak of gun violence in Austin’s Sixth Street entertainment district. At least two other high-profile shootings have occurred there within the past five years, including one in the summer of 2021 that left 14 people wounded.
While Sunday’s attack qualifies as a mass shooting, officials noted it does not meet the stricter definition of a mass killing, which generally refers to incidents involving four or more fatalities. Authorities said there have been five such mass killings nationwide so far this year.
Investigations by local and federal authorities remain ongoing.
