The gunman who killed two people and injured 14 others after opening fire on patrons outside an Austin bar early Sunday has been identified as a 53-year-old man, sources familiar with the investigation told NBC News.
Officers responded to reports of a shooting at Buford’s bar, a popular beer garden downtown, at about 1:58 a.m., according to Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis. The early investigation shows that a suspect circled the block around the bar several times in an SUV before the shooting, she said at a news conference.
Four sources familiar with the investigation identified the suspect as 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne to NBC News.
“At one point, he put his flashers on, pulled down his window and began using a pistol, shooting out of his car windows, striking patrons of the bar that were on the patio, and out in front of the bar,” Davis said.
The suspect then parked the car and walked out with a rifle, shooting some people who were walking by, Davis said. As he walked along West Sixth Street, Davis said, officers encountered the suspect.
He was shot and killed by officers at that time, the chief said. Texas officials have not yet identified the suspect.
Diagne was a naturalized citizen from Senegal who first entered the U.S. entered on March 13, 2000, on a B-2 tourist visa, a Homeland Security official told NBC News.
He became a lawful permanent resident in 2006 based on marriage to a U.S. citizen and became a naturalized citizen in 2013, the official said. He was arrested in 2022 in Texas for a collision with vehicle damage, according to the official.
Investigators are trying to determine whether the shooting was an act of terrorism or the action of an individual with mental illness, four people briefed on the matter told NBC News. Those people emphasized that the investigation is in its preliminary stages and information can change.
Based on the early stages of the investigation, Diagne appears to have been a lone actor with no state ties, according to sources.
Alex Doran, a special agent with the San Antonio FBI field office, told reporters that the federal agency is working with local police on the investigation.
“There were indicators that on the subject and in his vehicle that indicate potential nexus to terrorism,” Doran said. “Again, it’s still too early to make a determination on that.”
President Donald Trump has been briefed on the Austin shooting, the White House said on Sunday.
No other details regarding the suspect’s identity or potential terrorism ties were provided. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is also taking part in the investigation.
Buford’s is in the downtown area, just 2 miles from the heart of Austin’s University of Texas campus and less than a mile from the Texas Capitol building.
Robert Luckritz, chief of the county’s emergency medical services, said three people were killed in the shooting. Authorities later clarified that this included the suspected gunman.
Another 14 were transported to hospitals, three of whom are in critical condition, he said.
Paramedics were already positioned in the entertainment district at the time of the shooting, according to Luckritz.
