FBI Probes Terrorism Nexus After Ndiaga Diagne Kills Two in Austin Mass Shooting at Buford's Bar
Two people are dead and 14 others hospitalized — three of them critically — after a gunman opened fire on the crowd outside Buford's Backyard Beer Garden on West 6th Street in downtown Austin just before 2 a.m. Sunday, March 1. The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force, joined by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Austin police, and Texas state police, are investigating the case, with federal agents publicly citing evidence of a potential terrorism connection on the same morning that Iranian retaliatory strikes were hitting Gulf targets abroad.
How the Austin Shooting at Buford's Unfolded
The suspect drove a large SUV around the block multiple times before activating his hazard flashers, rolling down a window, and firing a handgun at people on Buford's patio. He then drove westbound on 6th Street to Wood Street, parked, and stepped out of the vehicle carrying a rifle, continuing to fire at pedestrians walking by. He never entered the bar itself.
Officers already positioned in the entertainment district transitioned rapidly from East 6th Street to West 6th, where three of them returned fire and killed the suspect. First responders arrived within 57 seconds of the initial 1:59 a.m. call, treating 17 patients on scene and transporting 14 to local hospitals. Austin Mayor Kirk Watson credited that speed with saving lives.
Who Is Ndiaga Diagne — and What Investigators Found
The suspect, identified as 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne, was a naturalized American citizen originally from Senegal who had previously lived in New York City and most recently resided in Pflugerville, Texas. He arrived in the United States in 2006 and became a citizen in 2013. Authorities had not formally released his name by early Sunday afternoon, though multiple law enforcement officials confirmed his identity.
During the attack, Diagne wore a sweatshirt bearing the words "Property of Allah" and a shirt printed with an Iranian flag design. A Quran was also recovered from his vehicle by investigators. Alex Doran, acting special agent in charge of the FBI's San Antonio field office, told reporters at a morning briefing that those items and other indicators pointed to "a potential nexus to terrorism," while stressing that establishing a definitive motive remained too early in the process. Investigators believe Diagne acted alone and have found no confirmed state ties.
A bomb squad was deployed to Diagne's Pflugerville home as investigators executed search warrants. His vehicle was also searched for explosive materials and quickly cleared. The FBI's evidence response team spent Sunday processing the West 6th Street scene, which remained closed from Guadalupe Street to North Lamar Boulevard.
Texas Response and the Wider Context
Governor Greg Abbott directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to increase patrols and add personnel in entertainment districts on weekends. In a statement, Abbott explicitly connected the shooting to the escalating Middle East crisis, warning that anyone who considers using that conflict as justification to threaten Texans would face "decisive and overwhelming force." The White House confirmed President Trump had been briefed.
The attack occurred less than 24 hours after a joint US-Israeli operation killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei — a strike that triggered retaliatory Iranian missile and drone attacks across the Gulf region. Whether Diagne was motivated by those events or by longer-standing radicalization is the central question investigators are now racing to answer. Early indications suggest he had prior arrests in Texas, a detail that may illuminate how he moved through the system before Sunday morning. The identities of the two victims killed have not yet been publicly released.
