AUSTIN, Texas — The gunman who killed two people at a bar in Texas early Sunday in a shooting that left 14 others wounded was wearing a sweatshirt that said “Property of Allah” and another shirt with an Iranian flag design, a law enforcement official told the Associated Press.
The shooter has been identified as 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne, the law enforcement official and another person familiar with the matter said. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation.
Diagne was originally from Senegal, according to people briefed on the investigation. One of the people told the AP that Diagne came to the U.S. in 2006 and was a naturalized U.S. citizen.
Officers in Austin shot and killed the gunman, who used a pistol and a rifle to carry out the attack, police said. The FBI said the shooting was being investigated as a potential act of terrorism.
The gunman drove past the bar several times before stopping and shooting a pistol out the window of his SUV at people on a patio and in front of the bar, said Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis.
The gunman then parked the vehicle, got out with a rifle, and began shooting at people walking in the area before officers who ran to the intersection shot him, Davis said.
There have been at least two other high-profile shootings in Austin’s Sixth Street entertainment district within the last five years, including one in the summer of 2021 that left 14 people wounded.
The FBI is investigating whether the shooting was act of terrorism because of “indicators” found on the gunman and in his vehicle, said Alex Doran, the acting agent in charge of the FBI’s San Antonio office.
“It’s still too early to make a determination on that,” Doran said.
The shooting happened outside Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden just before 2 a.m. along the Sixth Street area, a nightlife destination filled with bars and music clubs and only a few miles from the University of Texas.
The school’s president said on social media that some of those affected included “members of our Longhorn family.”
“Our prayers are with the victims and all those impacted,” said university President Jim Davis.
The entertainment district has a heavy police presence on weekends, and officers confronted the gunman within a minute of the first call for help, Davis said.
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson praised the fast response by police and rescuers.
“They definitely saved lives,” he said.
One of the victims was found in the street between two parked cars. Inside the multistory bar, there were overturned tables and drinks left behind by fleeing customers.
Another shooting early Sunday at a Cincinnati nightclub and concert venue wounded nine people, police in Ohio said.
All nine had gunshot wounds, but none were life-threatening, said Adam Hennie, the city’s interim police chief.
Myer, Richer, Tucker and Seewer write for the Associated Press. Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio. AP writer Olivia Diaz in Richmond, Va., contributed to this report.
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