On March 1, a mass shooting outside a popular bar on West Sixth Street in Austin, Texas, left three people dead and at least 14 others wounded before police fatally shot the gunman, 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne. Federal and local authorities are probing the incident as a possible act of terrorism, citing indicators on the suspect and in his vehicle, though officials say it’s too early to determine a definitive motive, AP reported.
Among those killed is a 21-year-old Indian-American student, identified as Savitha Shan, and a 19-year-old Ryder Harrington. The third victim has been identified as Jorge Pederson.
cnn reported that while the investigators have not revealed much information, they are, however, probing whether the Austin mass shooting was inspired by the strikes that the United States and Israel carried out on Iran on 28 February.
Here’s all you need to know about Ndiaga Diagne
The suspect, Diagne, was wearing a hoodie bearing the words “Property of Allah”, cnn reported. Law enforcement reported that Diagne was wearing a T-shirt stamped with an Iranian flag design, the report added, citing a source.
A Senegalese immigrant-turned American citizen, Diagne was never on the radar of the local police, nor the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), before the attack, officials said on Monday (local time). However, his personal life, criminal history, and private affiliations are now under scrutiny as investigators try to find the motive behind the attack.
Diagne, who tried making a life in the US, initially settled in New York and later moved to Texas. He entered the US in March 2000 on a B-2 tourist visa, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said. Visas like the B-2 are non-immigrant visas, which are granted to visitors who are traveling to the US temporarily, such as for vacation or visiting family.
The DHS official said that Diagne later married a US citizen, allowing him to adjust his status to lawful permanent resident in 2006, and he became a naturalized citizen in April 2013. While it remains unclear when Diagne moved to Texas, public records show he was still living in the Bronx, New York, in the late 2010s. Since relocating to the state, he has had multiple addresses, a law enforcement official told cnn.
Terrorism angle in Austin mass shooting
While Diagne’s motive remains unclear, the report shows that the items discovered during the investigation have led officials to consider whether the mass shooting was an act of domestic terrorism or was motivated by the recent US-Iran conflict.
Alex Doran, acting special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Antonio division, said, “Obviously, it’s still way too early in the process to determine an exact motivation, but there were indicators on the subject and then his vehicle that indicate a potential nexus to terrorism.”
The authorities carrying out investigations are now looking for computers or mobile phones to determine if Diagne read any propaganda or left any notes mentioning his plans. They will also look into whether Diagne had any mental health issues while living in Texas.
Diagne’s previous encounters with the law
Even though Diagne was not on the radar of the police, he did have some previous encounters with the police and courts in both Texas and New York. Both the guns that Diagne possessed were obtained legally from San Antonio in 2017, the police chief said.
In 2017, Diagne was sued in New York by a woman who claimed he hit her with a car while she was walking, and claimed that she sustained “serious injuries”.
According to DHS, in 2022, the 53-year-old was arrested in Texas on a charge of collision with vehicle damage, a misdemeanor offense.
