Suspect in Texas shooting wore ‘Property of Allah’ clothing and Iranian flag emblem, AP source says

AUSTIN, Texas – A gunman wearing clothing featuring an Iranian flag design and the words “Property of Allah” killed two people and wounded 14 others early Sunday outside a bar in Austin, according to a law enforcement official who spoke to The Associated Press. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating the shooting as a possible act of terrorism. The violence came a day after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran.

Austin police shot and killed the suspect after he opened fire using both a pistol and a rifle, authorities said. According to Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis, the gunman drove past the bar several times before stopping and firing from the window of his SUV at people gathered on a patio and in front of the business.

He later parked the vehicle, stepped out with a rifle and began shooting at people walking along the street. Officers quickly arrived at the intersection and fatally shot him, Davis said. Three of the injured remained in critical condition Sunday morning.

The suspect was identified as 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement. He first entered the United States in 2000 on a B-2 tourist visa and became a lawful permanent resident in 2006 after marrying a U.S. citizen. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2013. Diagne was originally from Senegal, according to individuals briefed on the investigation who were not authorized to speak publicly.

Investigators found “indicators” on the suspect and inside his vehicle that prompted the FBI to examine the possibility of terrorism, said Alex Doran, acting special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Antonio office.

“It’s still too early to make a determination on that,” Doran said Sunday.

The White House said President Donald Trump had been briefed on the shooting.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the state would respond forcefully to anyone attempting to “use the current conflict in the Middle East to threaten Texas.”

“We will not be intimidated, and we will not be terrorized,” Abbott said in a statement.

The shooting occurred just before 2 a.m. outside Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden along Sixth Street, a popular nightlife district lined with bars and music venues a few miles from the University of Texas at Austin.

University President Jim Davis said on social media that some of those affected were “members of our Longhorn family.”

“Our prayers are with the victims and all those impacted,” Davis said.

The entertainment district typically has a heavy police presence on weekends, and officers confronted the gunman within a minute of the first emergency call, Davis said.

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson praised the swift response by law enforcement and emergency personnel.

“They definitely saved lives,” Watson said.

One victim was found in the street between two parked cars. Inside the multilevel bar, overturned tables and abandoned drinks marked where patrons had fled. At least two other high-profile shootings have occurred in Austin’s Sixth Street entertainment district in the past five years, including one in the summer of 2021 that wounded 14 people. Although this weekend’s attack does not meet the definition of a mass killing, five such incidents have occurred nationwide so far this year.

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