AUSTIN, TX — The gunman who killed three people and wounded more than a dozen others in Mass shooting The man at a downtown Austin, Texas, bar in March was a “lone actor” and there was no evidence he was supported or directed by a foreign terrorist group, FBI investigators said Thursday.
The agency issued a two-page update to its investigation into the attack on Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden in the early morning hours of March 1, which ended with gunman Ndiaja Diagne being killed by police.
The shooting occurred after the United States and Israel Launched an attack on Iran. Diani was wearing clothes bearing the design of the Iranian flag and the phrase “King of God.”
Although there was no direct evidence of a motive for the shooting, investigators said Diagne was likely prompted to violent behavior by the war against Iran, “culminating in a violent and impulsive attack” at the bar, the report said.
Investigators determined that Diagne admired the Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khameneiwho had been killed. Investigators said his closeness to Iran and its former leader were likely factors in the attack, which Diagne committed alone.
“The investigation so far indicates that Diagne was a lone actor,” the report said. He was never the subject of an FBI investigation before the shooting.
Diagne (53 years old) was born in Senegal. He first entered the United States in 2000 on a B-2 tourist visa and became a lawful permanent resident six years later after marrying a US citizen, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
“There is no evidence at this time that he was associated with a foreign terrorist organization or that he received any direction, funding or operational support for his attack,” the report said.
The bar is located in the city’s popular bar and nightclub centre. Police said the gunman had driven past the bar before Spin again He fired the first shots from his four-wheel drive vehicle at people on the sidewalk and inside. He then stopped his car, got out with a rifle and began shooting at people walking in the street before officers rushed to the intersection and shot him.
Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said officers arrived within 56 seconds of the first 911 call and killed the shooter after he opened fire on police.
21-year-old Savitha Chan, 19-year-old Ryder Harrington, and 30-year-old Jorge Pederson were killed in the attack.
The FBI said the investigation into the attack remains open.