CBS News has obtained a photo showing the Austin gunman wearing a shirt emblazoned with a design similar to the Iranian flag.
Ndiaga Diagne, who was killed by police after he opened fire, was also wearing a hoodie that said “Property of Allah.”
Left: Fox News; Right: Obtained by CBS News
Authorities say he killed three people, two of whom died during the initial shooting and another who died on Monday, and wounded 13. Police identified the deceased victims as 19-year-old Ryder Harrington, 21-year-old Savitha Shan and 30-year-old Jorge Pederson.
U.S. officials say Diagne was a Senegalese-born immigrant who came to the U.S. in 2000 on a tourist visa, got a green card in 2006 after marrying a U.S. citizen and became an American citizen in 2013.
He had at least one prior arrest in 2022 in Texas stemming from a car collision. Sources familiar with the investigation also said Diagne had a history of mental health issues. Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said at a news conference on Monday that the department had not previously identified Diagne as a potential concern or a threat.
Officials have said they’ve been probing a potential terrorism nexus. A law enforcement source briefed on the matter said the gunman appears to have been fueled at least in part by the U.S. attack on Iran.
Sources said the gunman appears to have acted alone but that investigators are scrutinizing his digital footprint and his contacts to see if he was connected to anyone in the United States or overseas who may have influenced him to act.
Officials executed a search warrant at the gunman’s home on Sunday and found an Iranian flag and pictures of Iranian leaders, according to an official with direct knowledge of the investigation. Sources told CBS News that a Quran was found in the gunman’s vehicle.
The shooting happened a little after 1:30 a.m local time on Sunday at Buford’s, a bar in Austin’s Sixth Street entertainment district.
Sources told CBS News that the gunman was driving around in an SUV circling the block when he began shooting from the vehicle’s open window at people seated outdoors. He then exited the SUV and continued shooting as he walked up the street.
Local resident Kelson Li told CBS News one of the victims was a coworker and friend who moved to Austin two weeks before the shooting. Li said he ran back to the bar to find his friend.
“It’s hard not to feel somewhat responsible that I couldn’t get to him on time,” Li said. “I’ve never seen so much worry on people’s eyes before. It’s really unfortunate that people came there for a good reason and those lives got taken away so fast. And it’s more unfortunate that one of them was my friend.”
The gunman was shot and killed by responding police officers. Multiple weapons were found in the SUV, sources said.
A video obtained by CBS News shows law enforcement officers with weapons running westbound away from Buford’s as people in the street run and take cover. Austin Police said the suspect had also moved westbound down the block after shooting at patrons at the bar, before then walking eastbound.
The footage was filmed by Nathan Comeaux, who witnessed police officers exchange fire with the gunman down the block. Comeaux said he saw the gunman fire at police before officers returned fire.
