Terrified bystanders can be seen hiding and pointing officers in the direction of the shooter -Credit:Reach Publishing Services Limited
(Reach Publishing Services Limited)
New bodycam footage shows the extraordinary moment police neutralized the Austin bar shooter who killed three people last weekend.
Austin police released the harrowing footage that shows responding officers track down the gunman and fire multiple shots, taking him down in the streets after he unloaded gunfire inside a bar.
Terrified bystanders can be seen hiding and pointing officers in the direction of the shooter. Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis described the video as “difficult to see.”
Police also released 911 recording where one terror-struck caller pleads: “There’s people shot. We need help right now.”
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At a press conference Davis praised officer’s rapid response at the chaotic scene. She said police responded within 57 seconds of 911 calls being made to emergency services.
“As you can see, this was a chaotic scene,” Davis said, adding that it was “overwhelming for many.”
The FBI is probing the deadly shooting as a potential act of terrorism possibly prompted by Israeli-U.S. attacks on Iran after a Quran was found in the suspect’s car.
The suspect, identified as Ndiaga Diagne, 53, circled the bar several times in his SUV before halting and firing a handgun at patrons on the patio and in front of the establishment, Chief Davis said.
Ryder Harrington, 19, Savitha Shan, 21, and Jorge Pederson, 30, were killed outside Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden , a bustling entertainment hub packed with bars and live music venues, situated only a few miles from the University of Texas campus.
-Credit:FOX News
Diagne, a US citizen originally from Senegal, was naturalized in 2013 and applied for asylum in 2016, sources told the New York Post.
In addition to the Quran in his car, the suspected shooter was also wearing a “Property of Allah’’ hoodie, law-enforcement sources told The Post.
Diagne was also believed to be wearing an undershirt featuring the Iranian flag or other Iranian symbols, the sources added.
Diagne had a history of crime in NYC and Texas, the sources said. He is believed to have lived in New York City from 2001 to 2016.
Austin’s Sixth Street entertainment district has witnessed at least two other notable shootings within the past five years, including a summer 2021 incident that resulted in 14 injuries. Whilst this weekend’s shooting doesn’t qualify as a mass killing, there have been five such incidents so far this year.