The third victim identified in the bar shooting in Austin, Texas, was a businessman and amateur MMA fighter who was just getting to know his new home city, his mother said.
The Austin police identified the victim, Jorge Pederson, 30, on Monday evening. He was taken off life support that day after getting shot in the head, his mother, Nancy Pederson, said on Tuesday.
Two other victims, Ryder Harrington, 19, and Savitha Shan, 21, died at the scene of the shooting early Sunday morning, which injured at least 13 others.
More tributes to the victims emerged as officials investigated whether the suspect in the shooting, who was killed by the police, was motivated by the Iran war.
Mr. Pederson, who grew up in Glenwood, Minn., had lived in the Twin Cities before coming to Texas and studied marketing at North Dakota State University. He owned a moving company, his mother said, which he had sold just before moving to Austin in mid-February for a new job at Optimizely, an A.I. marketing company.
On the evening of the shooting, at Buford’s bar, Mr. Pederson was out with some of his co-workers, familiarizing himself with Austin.
“He was excited about a new opportunity,” Ms. Pederson said from her son’s Austin apartment, where she was going through his things. “And then that happened.”
In his free time, Mr. Pederson, who wrestled in high school, was an MMA fighter who traveled as far as New Zealand and Thailand to train and compete. He was planning to go pro in May, his mother said.
Todd Fossey, who trained with Mr. Pederson for five years at the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy, said his fighting name was “Trap Jorge.” He also dabbled in standup comedy, performing at open mic nights and posting funny videos on social media, his friends said.
“He lit up the world,” Mr. Fossey said. “It wasn’t just show. He wasn’t just putting on an act. He was the most authentic person I ever knew.”
As soon as she learned of the shooting in Austin on Sunday, Ms. Pederson said she checked his phone’s location and saw it was near the bar. For hours, she called every hospital in the area, until she was able to confirm Mr. Pederson was among the injured. She flew to Austin on Sunday evening.
Ms. Pederson was accompanied by Mr. Pederson’s girlfriend of five years, Olivia Caspers, who lived with him in the Twin Cities until he moved to Austin. They were seeing each other long distance, and this upcoming weekend, she had planned to visit him in Austin for the first time.
“He was so strong,” said Ms. Caspers, 27, who works as a nurse in Minnesota. “He stayed alive for us to be able to get there and say goodbye to him. I don’t know how he was able to do that, but he did.”
Ms. Shan, whose legal last name was Shanmugasundaram, was a senior at the University of Texas at Austin’s business school and was set to graduate in May. She had already lined up a job for after graduation at a major consulting firm, her parents said in a statement on Tuesday.
She was an only child, her parents said, and was bright and cared deeply about others.
“Her sudden and heartbreaking passing has left an irreplaceable void in our lives and in the lives of all who loved her,” they said. “The loss feels unreal and profoundly unfair, and the space she once brightened now echoes with sorrow.”
Mr. Harrington had been a student at Texas Tech University in Lubbock from fall 2024 to fall 2025, and was a member of the school’s Beta Theta Pi fraternity chapter. He was from Austin, and neighbors said that he was a sweet, popular person who always seemed to be out on the lawn playing baseball with his siblings.
Reagan Harrington, his older sister, shared photos of them on Instagram. “My best friend. I can’t believe you aren’t here with me right now,” she wrote. “You were the kindest, funniest and most important person in my life.”
Lina Fisher contributed reporting.
Sonia A. Rao reports on disability issues as a member of the 2025-26 Times Fellowship class, a program for early-career journalists.
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