{"id":186517,"date":"2026-03-02T08:25:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T08:25:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/186517\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T08:25:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T08:25:18","slug":"what-to-know-about-the-shooting-in-austin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/186517\/","title":{"rendered":"What to Know About the Shooting in Austin"},"content":{"rendered":"

Federal investigators are looking into<\/a> whether a shooting in Austin, Texas, on Sunday\u2014that involved a gunman opening fire at a downtown beer garden, killing two and wounding 14\u2014constitutes a potential act of terrorism.<\/p>\n

Alex Doran, the acting special agent in charge of the FBI\u2019s San Antonio Field Office, said in a press conference that while it\u2019s still too early to determine a motive, authorities found \u201cindicators\u201d on the alleged gunman and in his vehicle that \u201cindicate potential nexus to terrorism.\u201d<\/p>\n

The suspected gunman, who was reportedly wearing clothes that bore \u201cProperty of Allah\u201d and an Iranian flag design, was shot dead in a standoff with law enforcement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The shooting happened just a day after the U.S. and Israel launched a major military campaign against Iran<\/a>. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said<\/a> President Donald Trump was briefed on the shooting.<\/p>\n

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican who expressed support<\/a> for the latest Iran strike, said in a statement<\/a>: \u201cTo anyone who thinks about using the current conflict in the Middle East to threaten Texans or our critical infrastructure, understand this clearly: Texas will respond with decisive and overwhelming force to protect our state.\u201d A day before the incident, Abbott directed the Texas Military Department to activate service members to \u201cwork alongside state and federal partners to safeguard our communities and critical infrastructure,\u201d and he directed the state\u2019s Department of Public Safety and the Texas National Guard, to \u201cintensify patrols and surveillance.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what to know.<\/p>\n

What happened?<\/p>\n

Shortly before 2 a.m. Sunday, the suspect circled past Buford\u2019s Backyard Beer Garden on Sixth Street several times in a \u201clarge SUV,\u201d before stopping and opening fire with a pistol out of the vehicle window at people on the patio and gathered outside the bar, Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said in a press briefing on Sunday.<\/p>\n

The suspect parked the vehicle, stepped out with an assault rifle, and started firing at people on the street, according to Davis. Officers responding to the incident shot and killed the gunman.<\/p>\n

The shooting took place along Sixth Street, a popular nightlife and entertainment district located a few miles from the University of Texas at Austin. Three people, including the suspect, were killed, and 14 were injured in the attack. All of those injured were transported to local hospitals, with three in critical condition, Austin EMS Chief Robert Luckritz said at the Sunday briefing. The names of the victims were released as of Sunday night.<\/p>\n

Jim Davis, president of UT Austin, confirmed in a statement<\/a> that members of the university community were among those affected by the shooting, although they have not been publicly identified. \u201cOur prayers are with the victims and all those impacted, including members of our Longhorn family, and my heart goes out to their families, friends, classmates, professors, and loved ones,\u201d Davis said. \u201cAs Longhorns, we feel this pain together.\u201d<\/p>\n

What do we know about the suspect?<\/p>\n

The Austin Police Department identified<\/a> the suspect as Ndiaga Diagne, a 53-year-old man. Diagne, who was born in Senegal, officials told the Associated Press<\/a>, first came to the U.S. in 2000 on a B-2 tourist visa, according to a Department of Homeland Security statement to the AP. He married a U.S. citizen in 2006 and became a lawful permanent resident, before becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2013.<\/p>\n

A law enforcement official briefed on the case told CNN<\/a> that Diagne was wearing a shirt with an Iranian flag design and a hoodie emblazoned with \u201cProperty of Allah.\u201d The AP also reported the words and symbols on his clothes, also citing a law enforcement official.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Austin American-Statesman reported<\/a> that investigators searched a house in Pflugerville, north of Austin, linked to Diagne’s possible relative. Local television station KXAN reported<\/a> that Diagne had been issued a driver\u2019s license with an address in Pflugerville in 2017.<\/p>\n

Neighbors speaking to the New York Times<\/a> said Diagne had maintained a low profile. \u201cThey kept very much to themselves,\u201d Chris Finch, who lived next to the searched home, said. \u201cThey didn\u2019t really say hi or anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another neighbor and the president of the neighborhood\u2019s homeowners association, Eddie Garcia, said he was never aware of any previous issues. \u201cWe\u2019re all neighbors and respect each other but we are also private and keep to ourselves,\u201d he told the Statesman.<\/p>\n

How are authorities reacting?<\/p>\n

Mayor Kirk Watson called<\/a> the shooting \u201can extremely difficult, traumatic moment\u201d for the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Senator Ted Cruz (R, Texas) said<\/a> the shooting was a \u201csenseless act of violence\u201d and that he and his team are coordinating with local, state, and federal authorities over the incident.<\/p>\n

Other Texas politicians have been united in condemning the shooting and extending condolences to victims and their loved ones, but they have been divided along partisan lines as to what\u2019s to blame for the attack.<\/p>\n

In a statement<\/a> posted on X, eight Democrats in the Texas state legislature, including U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico<\/a>, said, \u201cGun violence continues to steal the lives of far too many Texans. Our hearts are with the victims of today\u2019s shooting and their families. We will never stop fighting for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rep. Greg Casar (D, Texas) posted<\/a>, \u201cWe must end America\u2019s gun violence epidemic. Americans should be able to have fun at a bar without it turning into an unspeakable nightmare like this one\u2014 and I will redouble my efforts in Congress to prevent the next tragedy like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGun violence is preventable. This devastating loss of life was preventable,\u201d Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D, Texas) posted<\/a> on X. \u201cUntil Republicans find the courage to say no to the NRA, our country will be plagued with more tragedies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Republicans, on the other hand, have blamed the attack on Islamic extremism and mass migration. Rep. Chip Roy (R, Texas) said<\/a>, in response to Doggett, that \u201cMuslim immigrant violence – naturalized or not – is preventable. Until Democrats (& Republicans) find the courage to say no to the mass migration of Islamists, our country will be plagued with more tragedies\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

In another post<\/a>, Roy said the shooting in Austin was \u201ccarried out by a suspected Islamist who came on a tourist VISA, and OVERSTAYED for years,\u201d adding that the \u201ctragedy was preventable\u201d and that \u201cfailed policies have real consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAllowing unvetted immigrants who are hostile to America, who are loyal to our adversaries like Iran, must end,\u201d Abbott, the Republican governor, said<\/a> in response to a call<\/a> by Talarico for stricter gun regulations. \u201cThe way to end it is to end the current open immigration policies.\u201d (Talarico responded<\/a>, \u201cDangerous people should not be allowed into the country. Dangerous people should not be allowed to get guns.\u201d)<\/p>\n

The Texas chapter of the Muslim rights advocacy group Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned<\/a> the shooting in a statement, but it also rejected using the incident to attack the larger Muslim community.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile a single person carried out this heinous attack last night, hundreds of thousands of Texas Muslims finished their night prayers and headed to their homes while calling on God for global peace and justice,\u201d the statement said. \u201cWe encourage elected officials, law enforcement, faith leaders, and community members to come together to support the families of the victims and reaffirm our shared commitment to public safety.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Federal investigators are looking into whether a shooting in Austin, Texas, on Sunday\u2014that involved a gunman opening fire…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":186518,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133,294,68679,2295],"class_list":["post-186517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news","tag-crime","tag-news-desk","tag-overnight"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186517","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=186517"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186517\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/186518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=186517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=186517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=186517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}