Authorities in Austin, Texas, are conducting a multi-faceted investigation into a mass shooting that killed at least two people and injured more than a dozen others outside a bar on the city's West 6th Street entertainment corridor. Officials said on Monday that it is premature to determine whether the gunman acted because of the war in Iran or for any other specific motive.
Police released limited details about the suspect and the unfolding probe. A photograph of the gunman whose body was at the scene after he was killed by responding officers was reported to show him wearing a shirt bearing the colors of the Iranian flag with the word "IRAN" spelled across the front in green, white and red. A government official also reported that the individual wore a sweatshirt reading "Property of Allah."
"Our priority is finding answers and the motives behind this crime," Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said at a briefing on Monday, stressing that investigators have not yet determined the suspect's motive. She identified the two people killed at the scene as Savitha Shan, 24, and Ryder Harrington, 22, and said an additional shooting victim was expected to be taken off life support later on Monday.
Alex Doran, acting special agent in charge of the FBI s San Antonio field office, said the bureau is investigating whether there are ties to terrorism, but that such a line of inquiry is only one of "multiple other avenues" agents are pursuing. "It s always very difficult to determine what s in an individual s mind that leads them to commit this type of violence," Doran added.
Law enforcement documents reviewed by investigators indicate the suspect had a history of mental health conditions, according to an internal update from the National Counterterrorism Center. That same internal update identified the shooter as Ndiaga Diagne, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Senegal. Despite those details in the internal document, authorities said they had not publicly identified the gunman.
The attack occurred outside Buford s, a well-known bar on West 6th Street that sits in the heart of Austin s music and nightlife district. According to police accounts, the shooter drove an SUV around the block multiple times before stopping near the venue. He activated his vehicle s hazard lights, rolled down a window and opened fire with a pistol at patrons outside the bar.
Afterward, the shooter reportedly drove west, parked the SUV and exited the vehicle. He then began firing at pedestrians before officers arrived at a nearby intersection and fatally shot him. Authorities said 14 other people were injured in the incident.
Data compiled by the Gun Violence Archive shows this incident to be the 56th U.S. mass shooting this year and the deadliest in terms of victims so far. The archive defines a mass shooting as any event in which at least four people, not including the shooter, are injured or killed by gunfire. According to the same dataset, there were 407 mass shootings in the United States last year.
Investigators have emphasized the need to follow evidence across several lines of inquiry. Officials are weighing the visible indicators found on the gunman s clothing and the internal determination in a counterterrorism update against other investigative leads, including the suspect s mental health history and the circumstances surrounding the vehicle s repeated circuit around the block before the attack.
For now, law enforcement has focused on gathering forensic evidence, witness statements and digital records to build a clearer timeline of the attack and the shooter s recent activities. Chief Davis and FBI officials signaled that conclusions about motive could take time and that early visual indicators do not constitute a definitive explanation.
The shooting has renewed attention on public safety in high-traffic entertainment districts and on the challenges investigators face in rapidly establishing the driving factors behind acts of mass violence. Local officials declined to speculate further while the probe continues.
Summary: A mass shooting outside a busy Austin bar left at least two people dead and many injured. Federal and local authorities are pursuing multiple lines of inquiry, including possible terror links and the suspect s mental health history, but officials said it remains too early to assign a clear motive.