The United States’ war on Iran was being looked at by authorities as a possible motivation for a deadly shooting outside a bar in the Texas capital on Sunday that left two people dead and 14 injured, three of them seriously. File photo by Justin Lane/EPA-EFE
The FBI is actively looking into whether the suspect in Sunday’s mass shooting at a bar in Austin that killed two people and injured 14 was motivated by the strikes launched against Iran by the United States over the weekend.
The agency was pursuing the line of investigation because Ndiaga Diagne, who was shot dead at the scene by Austin police department officers, was wearing a hoodie that read “Property of Allah” and a T-shirt with an Iranian flag on it, two people with knowledge of the investigation told The Washington Post.
Officers also found a Quran in the SUV that Diagne, a 53-year-old Senegal-born naturalized U.S. citizen, used to drive to Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden in the city’s Sixth Street nightlife district.
The FBI confirmed it was treating the shooting as potential terrorism and had brought in its Joint Terrorism Task Force to help in the investigation.
“Obviously, it’s still way too early in the process to determine the exact motivation. But there were indicators on the subject and in his vehicle that indicate a potential nexus to terrorism,” Alex Doran, acting head of the FBI’s San Antonio field office, said at a news briefing on Sunday.
The sources said that so far, authorities did not believe Diagne, who has had previous run-ins with the state due to mental illness, was directed by any group with ties to, or that supported, the regime in Tehran.
However, they said that new information could alter that determination, noting that the investigation was still in its initial stages.
Authorities have searched Diagne’s home and removed computers and phones, which they will go through to find out what material he may have been reading, what he was looking at online and whether he had written anything indicating his intentions.
Austin police chief Lisa Davis said Diagne drove up and down the road outside the popular bar before stopping just before 2 a.m. and opening fire with a pistol through the window of his vehicle, hitting several people on the patio and standing outside.
He then parked, exited the vehicle with an assault rifle and was shooting at people fleeing the area when police officers who happened to be nearby rushed in and opened fire, killing Diagne, said Davis who praised the swift response of her officers and emergency responders.
Officials said that three of those injured remain in the hospital in a critical condition.
Students or faculty of the University of Texas at Austin, which is nearby, are believed to be among those caught up in the tragedy.
“Today is a difficult day for our city and the University. We are deeply saddened by the tragedy that occurred early this morning in downtown Austin. 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,” University President Jim Davis said Sunday in a statement.
The incident came amid heightened fears over domestic security following the launching of massive strikes on Iran by the United States and Israel on Saturday that wiped out more than 40 of the most senior members of the Iranian regime, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s supreme leader.
The timely response of Austin first responders and law enforcement, which reportedly brought an end to Diagne’s shooting spree in less than 90 seconds, was because authorities were on high alert in anticipation of possible incidents and had deployed additional resources on the streets of the state capital.
“Our hearts go out to the people that are victims of this. And I want to again reiterate my thanks to our public safety officers and officials that so rapidly were on the scene. They definitely saved lives,” said Austin Mayor Kirk Watson.
Condemining the attack, Texas’ Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said the state would not tolerate anyone “using the current conflict in the Middle East to threaten Texans.”
“This act of violence will not define us, nor will it shake the resolve of Texans,” Abbott said in a statement.
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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks during a press conference after the weekly Republican Senate caucus luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
