What we know about Austin’s deadly mass shooting 1 week later

Members of the FBI perform and local law enforcement investigate outside of Buford’s bar in downtown on March 01, 2026 in Austin, Texas. Three people are dead and 14 others hospitalized following a mass shooting early Sunday morning. 

Brandon Bell/Getty Images

It’s been one week since a deadly mass shooting rocked Texas’ capital city. The shooting outside Buford’s Beer Garden on West Sixth Street left three people dead, as well as the shooter, and more than a dozen others injured early Sunday, March 1.

A lot has happened in the past week since the tragedy, including the FBI launching an investigation into this potential act of terrorism. If you missed anything, here’s a recap of everything we know about Austin’s second deadliest shooting one week later. 

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AUSTIN, TEXAS – MARCH 01: In an aerial view, law enforcement patrol an intersection near Buford’s bar in downtown on March 01, 2026 in Austin, Texas. Three people are dead and 14 others hospitalized following a mass shooting early Sunday morning. 

Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Shooting breaks out at Buford’s 

City of Austin cameras show police blocking off parts of Sixth Street after a deadly shooting at Buford’s Bar. 

Courtesy of City of Austin

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson speaks at a press conference on Monday, March 2, addressing the mass shooting in Austin.

Cristela Jones/MySA

The shooting began Sunday at 1:58 a.m. outside Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden on West Sixth Street. First responders including police and paramedics were on the scene 57 seconds later.

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Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said that a black Cadillac SUV traveling southbound on Rio Grande Street pulled alongside Buford’s and began shooting a semi-automatic handgun into a crowd of people that were standing outside the bar and its outdoor patio.

The vehicle then continued westbound on the street and parked near the intersection of West Sixth Street, afterword the suspect exited the SUV armed with an AR-15 rifle. The suspect fired the rifle at a pedestrian, then walked back toward the bar and continued shooting at people walking by.

Around 2:33 a.m., three officers located the suspect near the intersection of West Sixth and West Avenue. Surveillance videos show the suspect discharged his firearm toward the direction of the officers and the officers returned fire, striking him multiple times until he was killed.

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Several nearby businesses to West Sixth Street also closed Sunday as police blocked off the road to traffic for their investigation.

Potential act of terrorism

In a news conference Sunday morning, FBI active special agent Alex Doran said authorities found evidence in the suspect’s vehicle that indicate a potential nexus to terrorism. The agency’s joint terrorism task force is helping the Austin Police with the investigation. APD later confirmed the suspect wore a shirt with an image of the Iranian flag and the words “Property of Allah.” 

The shooting came less than 24 hours after the U.S. and Israel launched a joint strike on Iran. However, Doran later said it is too early to determine the suspect’s motive as the FBI’s investigation remains ongoing. 

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The Austin Police Department identified the suspected shooter behind the West Sixth Street mass shooting as Ndiaga Diagne, 53.

Courtesy of the Austin Police Department

Austin shooter identified

On Monday, March 2, Austin Police identified the suspected shooter as 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne, a naturalized American citizen born in Senegal. At a news conference that same day, APD Chief Davis revealed Diagne legally acquired the firearms used in the attack in 2017 in San Antonio. 

He reportedly worked as a cab driver in the Bronx, New York before moving to Pflugerville, a city north of Austin around 2017, the Department of Homeland Security told KXAN. APD said he had no known criminal history, and his only interaction with law enforcement was a welfare check for mental health in New York.

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Bexar County court records, obtained by the Texas Tribune and the Austin Current, revealed Diagne lived with his second wife in San Antonio before she filed for divorce in 2022. According to the report, a judge found that Diagne had a “history or pattern of committing family violence” during their marriage.

He reportedly remarried a third woman months later in Travis County, per KXAN. The Austin American-Statesman recently reported that Diagne was a former Tesla employee who worked at the Austin Gigafactory, where he allegedly assaulted a co-worker in December 2025.  

Texas Tech student Ryder Harrington.

GoFundMe/Courtesy of GoFundMe

Three Austin shooting victims identified

On Monday, Austin Police first confirmed 19-year-old Ryder Harrington and 21-year-old Savitha Shan died from Sunday’s shooting. Harrington was a former student at Texas Tech University, while Shan attended the University of Texas at Austin.

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Later that day, police confirmed 30-year-old Jorge Pederson died in the hospital as a result of his injuries. Pederson was an MMA fighter from Minnesota who moved to Austin just two weeks before the shooting for a new job.  

Jorge Pederson, 30, has been identified as the third victim killed in the Buford’s mass shooting in Austin.

Courtesy of Maureen Pederson

Thousands of people have shared their condolences and prayers to the victims’ families and friends online.

Travis County DA addresses rumors

On Tuesday, March 3, Travis County District Attorney José Garza denied online rumors alleging that he would seek criminal charges against the three APD officers who fatally shot Diagne. In a statement, he called the officers “heroes” and criticized Texas Republican leaders like Governor Greg Abbott and Speaker of the House Dustin Burrows, who believed the fake claims.

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“These officers are heroes, and it should go without saying that my office is not seeking any charges and would not seek charges,” Garza said Tuesday. “The accounts to the contrary are false, intentionally false, and are being peddled for obvious political purposes.”

GoFundMe’s created for Austin shooting victims, survivors

Over the past few days, several GoFundMe fundraisers have been created to help pay for the funeral and medical expenses of some Austin mass shooting victims, including Ryder Harrington. 

On Wednesday, March 4, Cynthia Hernandez launched a GoFundMe for her son, Rodolfo “Rudy” Garza Jr., a 21-year-old UT Austin student, who was critically injured and hospitalized after he was shot in the head during the attack. Austinite George Davis, who was also shot Sunday, recently made a GoFundMe to cover his medical bills that are piling up and more unanticipated expenses. 

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Austin Police Department on Thursday, March 5, released body camera footage of Ndiaga Diagne, the suspected gunman in the March 1 mass shooting on West Sixth Street in Austin, Texas. 

Courtesy of Austin Police Department

Austin Police release body camera footage, 911 calls

Austin Police released body camera footage, audio from 9-1-1 phone calls and police radio traffic from Sunday’s shooting, at a news conference Thursday, March 5. APD Chief Davis shared new details of the officer-involved shooting to provide transparency to the public. 

Videos of the chaotic scene show different angles of Diagne firing his weapons during the attack, as witnesses help officers locate him quickly. In an update Thursday, Davis said two victims remain at local hospitals and one is in critical condition. Davis also confirmed 19 people were injured in the shooting, a number that increased since 14 people were reportedly hospitalized. 

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A growing memorial pictured outside Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden on Monday, March 2. Three people are dead and 13 others were injured in a mass shooting at the popular downtown Austin bar early Sunday morning, March 1.

Cristela Jones/MySA

Buford’s reopens, donates to victims 

Buford’s announced on social media that it will reopen Friday, March 6. The bar said this decision came after careful consideration and talks with staff members who want to move forward from the tragedy. 

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To honor those impacted, Buford’s said it will donate 100% of all sales this weekend to the victims and their families.