The man suspected of killing two people and injuring 14 others when he opened fire on patrons outside a bar in Austin, Texas, early Sunday had a history of mental illness, sources familiar with the investigation told NBC News.
Ndiaga Diagne, 53, was a Senegalese national and naturalized U.S. citizen living in Pflugerville, according to four law enforcement officials.
At the time of the shooting, he wore a sweatshirt that said “Property of Allah” and a shirt underneath with an Iranian-flag theme, the sources said.
Officers shot and killed him shortly after the rampage, according to police.
Authorities said they were still working to determine a possible motive for the attack, including whether it was an act of terrorism. Diagne appears to have been a lone actor with no state ties, according to sources who emphasized that the investigation is in its preliminary stages.
“There were indicators that on the subject and in his vehicle that indicate potential nexus to terrorism,” said Alex Doran, a special agent with the San Antonio FBI field office. “Again, it’s still too early to make a determination on that.”
A Homeland Security official told NBC News that Diagne first entered the U.S. entered on March 13, 2000, on a B-2 tourist visa. He became a lawful permanent resident in 2006 based on marriage to a U.S. citizen and a naturalized citizen in 2013, the official said. He was arrested in 2022 in Texas for a collision with vehicle damage, the official said.
President Donald Trump was briefed on the shooting Sunday.
The violence took revelers outside Buford’s, a popular beer garden in downtown Austin, by surprise. A video recorded by a bystander appears to capture bursts of gunfire as people shout “Oh, my God” and crouch to hide. Another video shows people who appear to be injured lying on the ground under the bar’s string lights, drinks strewn around them, as sirens wail.
The gunman may have circled the bar several times in an SUV before he opened fire, Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said at a news conference.
“At one point, he put his flashers on, pulled down his window and began using a pistol, shooting out of his car windows, striking patrons of the bar that were on the patio and out in front of the bar,” Davis said.
The gunman then parked the car and walked out with a rifle, shooting some people who were walking by, Davis said. As he walked along West Sixth Street, Davis said, officers encountered and shot him.
Buford’s is in downtown Austin, just 2 miles from the heart of the city’s University of Texas campus and less than a mile from the Texas Capitol building.
Nathan Comeaux, a senior at the University of Texas at Austin, was celebrating two friends’ 21st birthdays at Buford’s on Saturday night. He left to get pizza across the street shortly before 2 a.m. and was just sitting down when he heard gunfire.
At first, no one near him panicked, but when police arrived minutes later and confronted the gunman, “people realized it was serious” and started running, he said.
Comeaux said he saw police officers engage the shooter and heard around eight gunshots as the shooter fired at officers and they shot back.
“If he had made it back to Buford’s, it would’ve been much worse, with hundreds of people holed up in the bar,” Comeaux said of the gunman.
Three of the 14 injured people were taken to a local hospital in critical condition, said Robert Luckritz, chief of the county’s emergency medical services.
Paramedics were already in the area and arrived within minutes, he added.
UT Austin President Jim Davis said Sunday night that it was “a difficult day for our city and the University.”
“Our prayers are with the victims and all those impacted, including members of our Longhorn family, and my heart goes out to their families, friends, classmates, professors, and loved ones,” he said in a statement.
—— Law enforcement officers patrol an intersection near Buford’s bar Sunday.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement that he was praying for the recovery of all the victims, adding that the entire state mourns for those who were killed.
“This act of violence will not define us, nor will it shake the resolve of Texans,” Abbott said.
Though any potential terrorist ties have yet to be confirmed, Abbott warned anyone who “thinks about using the current conflict in the Middle East to threaten Texans” that the state will protect its residents. Abbott appeared to refer to the joint military operations between the U.S. and Israeli governments against Iran, which killed the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“Patrols have been increased at vital energy facilities, ports, and along our border,” Abbott said. “We have bolstered cybersecurity personnel and deployed unmanned aerial surveillance to monitor and protect critical infrastructure sites.”
Texas lawmakers offered their condolences and support to Austin officials in the wake of the shooting, including Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who said he talked to Mayor Kirk Watson to offer assistance.
Cornyn wrote on X that he was proud of the “lifesaving speed” of police and emergency medical services.
“Pray for the families of the dead and injured,” Cornyn said.
Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, and Democratic state Rep. James Talarico, who are among those campaigning for Cornyn’s seat in this year’s election, also offered prayers.
Talarico appeared to refer to inaction around gun control legislation, saying, “We must act.”
“America is praying for Austin,” Talarico said. “But there is something profoundly cynical about asking God to solve a problem we’re not willing to solve ourselves. God moves and works through us.”
