AUSTIN, Texas — Austin police on Monday identified the two victims killed in a weekend shooting on West 6th Street as Savitha Shan, 21, and Ryder Harrington, 19.
Police Chief Lisa Davis named the victims during an afternoon news conference.
Ndiaga Diagne, 53, allegedly opened fire on patrons outside Buford’s bar early Sunday before officers shot and killed him.
UT President Jim Davis confirmed that Shan was a UT student, calling her “a child of loving parents, a loyal friend to many, a Longhorn preparing to change the world.”
“It is devastating, and I know all of us are grieved by this horrible news and we will remember her,” Jim Davis wrote.
The university also confirmed that several students sustained injuries in the attack, some of them serious.
Chief Davis said a family resource center was being established to support those affected.
“I cannot imagine the grief, pain, and loss these families are feeling today and my heart is with them,” Lisa Davis said.
Fourteen others were injured in the attack. The FBI is investigating the shooting as a potential act of terrorism.
Chief Davis said investigators are working through more than 150 witnesses and thousands of hours of video footage. She said body camera footage and information on the suspect, including his criminal history, could be released as soon as Thursday.
The weapons used in the attack were purchased legally in 2017 in San Antonio, Davis confirmed.
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson praised the response of first responders and the compassion shown by residents in the aftermath.
“While this is a dark moment, our people are creating a lot of light in Austin, Texas,” Watson said.
Chief Davis said the investigation remains ongoing and complex, and urged patience as detectives work to determine a motive.
“We are making tremendous, significant progress in this case,” she said, “but it will take time.”