FBI probes potential Iran link after Austin West Sixth shooting

A gunman opened fire just before 2 a.m. on West Sixth Street near Buford’s bar in downtown Austin, killing two people, wounding about 14 others and then being fatally shot by police, officials said. Officers who were already staged in the busy entertainment district engaged the suspect, who investigators say fired first from a large SUV and later on foot, authorities and local reporting said.

Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said 911 callers reported gunfire around Buford’s Bar and that officers confronted a man armed on the street; the suspect did not enter the bar, local television station KVUE reported. KVUE and other local accounts described the suspect circling the block, using hazard lights before the initial volley, firing from an SUV window and then continuing to shoot while walking east on Sixth Street. Two firearms — a pistol and a rifle — were recovered, KVUE said.

Federal investigators immediately joined the response. The FBI San Antonio field office and the bureau’s Joint Terrorism Task Force are assisting Austin police, and evidence response and digital forensics teams were at the scene, the FBI said. Acting FBI San Antonio special agent in charge Alex Doran told reporters, “There were indicators on the subject, and in his vehicle, that indicate a potential nexus to terrorism.” Authorities said they are exploring whether the attack was motivated by the recent joint U.S.-Israel strike on Iran, a line of inquiry reported by Reuters and echoed by other outlets.

Some outlets identified the suspect as Ndiaga Diagne, 53, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Senegal and associated with Pflugerville, Texas, citing law enforcement sources. Other officials and agencies had not publicly released a name as of reporting, and investigators emphasized the motive remains under active review. An internal National Counterterrorism Center update reviewed by Reuters noted the suspect had a history of mental health conditions; that detail has not been independently confirmed by local authorities.

Reports from the scene included other items that prompted federal scrutiny. The Associated Press and Iran International, citing law enforcement, reported that a Quran was found in the suspect’s vehicle and that he wore clothing bearing Islamic references, including a sweatshirt reading “Property of Allah” and a shirt with an Iranian flag emblem. CBS, as relayed by Iran International, reported photographs and a flag of Iranian leaders found in the suspect’s apartment; those findings have been described to reporters by sources and remain part of the FBI’s evidentiary review.

Emergency medical response was swift. Austin-Travis County EMS chief Robert Luckritz told CNN that more than 20 EMS resources were deployed; paramedics embedded in the entertainment district moved critical patients off the scene within about 24 minutes and cleared all patients within roughly 47 minutes. Mayor Kirk Watson praised the response, saying, “There is no question in my mind that the quick response of the police officers and of our EMS personnel and those professionals made a difference and saved lives.”

Early reports from some outlets briefly produced a different casualty count; CNN at one point reported “at least three people dead, including the suspected gunman,” while most local and national reporting since has listed two victims killed and multiple wounded. The White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted that President Donald Trump had been briefed on the shooting.

Investigators cautioned that many questions remain. Federal and local authorities are continuing scene processing, forensic work and digital examinations as they seek to determine whether the attack was politically motivated, part of a wider plot, or driven by other factors.