Austin police on Sunday identified Ndiaga Diagne, 53, as a suspect in the early morning mass shooting on West Sixth Street that left three dead — including Diagne — and 14 injured.
Diagne, who was fatally shot by police mid-rampage, was a Senegalese native who obtained U.S. citizenship in 2012, authorities said. At the time of the shooting, he was wearing clothing that bore an image of the Iranian flag and the words “Property of Allah.”
On Sunday, investigators executed a search warrant at a home in Pflugerville owned by the estate of a possible relative of Diagne. Austin police SWAT officers were seen at the residence before departing around 12:40 p.m., while personnel from the Austin Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the FBI remained on scene.
Authorities have not disclosed what, if anything, was recovered during the search.
Todd Bruder, a neighbor who has lived in the area since 2015, said he believed the family that lived at the house were devout Muslims. A woman who lived at the house wore a hijab and one of the cars had window decals referencing Allah.
Bruder said he only had one interaction with a woman who lived at the house when he was knocking doors searching for a stray dog. Bruder said the woman was friendly and the rest of the family kept quiet and to themselves.
“I’m shocked that this happened here,” Bruder, who served seven years in the Navy. “The family was quiet and seemed nice. They seemed like a normal American family living in the suburbs.”
The shooting, which came after a U.S.-Israeli strike on Iran, began just before 2 a.m. outside Buford’s bar in the 700 block of West Sixth Street.
Police Chief Lisa Davis said Diagne drove a “large SUV” around the block multiple times before he stopped in front of the bar, put his flashers on, rolled down the window and began firing a pistol — striking patrons on the bar patio and in front of the bar. He then drove westbound on Sixth Street, parked on Wood Street and began walking east on Sixth Street with an assault rifle, shooting at people walking by, Davis said.
Officers already stationed nearby on East Sixth Street responded within moments to reports of an active shooter and confronted Diagne at an intersection along the corridor, fatally shooting him.
By sunrise, the normally crowded stretch of West Sixth Street had been transformed into an expansive crime scene, with investigators collecting shell casings, canvassing nearby businesses for surveillance footage and interviewing patrons who had fled the gunfire.
The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force joined the investigation early on due to what one agency official described as a “potential nexus to terrorism.”
FBI official Alex Doran said at a Sunday morning press briefing that while it’s “way too early to determine motivation,” evidence found on the shooter and in his vehicle indicate a possible link to extremism.
Officials have not detailed what specific materials were recovered or whether Diagne had any known affiliations. Authorities emphasized that the investigation remains active.