Austin’s West Sixth Street shooting leaves three dead as FBI probes possible terrorism motive

The music was still thumping inside Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden when the first shots cracked across West Sixth Street.

It was just before 2 a.m. March 1—closing time on one of Austin’s busiest bar strips—when a black Cadillac SUV rolled past the packed patio with its hazard lights blinking. Witnesses said people at the corner of West Sixth and Rio Grande streets dropped to the sidewalk as the gunman inside opened fire out the window, sending bar patrons scrambling for cover in doorways and down side streets.

Within 57 seconds of the first 911 call, police and paramedics were already on the block. By then, authorities say, nearly 20 people had been shot.

Three patrons—a 19-year-old college student, a 21-year-old University of Texas at Austin student and a 30-year-old mixed martial arts fighter visiting from out of state—would not survive. Fifteen others were wounded. The gunman, identified as 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne, was killed minutes later in a confrontation with Austin police officers a few blocks away.

Now the FBI and Austin police are investigating whether the attack on the city’s best-known nightlife corridor was an act of terrorism, even as local officials point to the swift response as evidence that years of safety reforms on Sixth Street prevented a higher death toll.

“This was an evil act that took place in the heart of our city,” Mayor Kirk Watson said at a news conference. “Our police officers and medics did a tremendous job, moving quickly and bravely to make sure that lives were saved.”

A five-minute rampage

Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said the first 911 calls came in around 1:58 a.m. from outside Buford’s, a sprawling bar with a large outdoor patio that draws crowds of UT students and young professionals.

According to a timeline released by the department, Diagne drove west on Sixth Street in the Cadillac, firing a semi-automatic handgun toward the bar and sidewalk. He then turned off the strip and parked in a lot along nearby Wood Street.

There, investigators say, he stepped out of the SUV wearing a sweatshirt printed with the words “Property of Allah” and an undershirt resembling the Iranian flag. He retrieved an AR-15-style rifle from the vehicle, shot at least one pedestrian in or near the lot, and then walked back toward West Sixth, firing at people along the way.

Officers already assigned to the downtown entertainment district on weekend duty spotted Diagne near the intersection of West Sixth Street and West Avenue around 2:02 to 2:03 a.m., guided by bystanders and surveillance cameras.

Body camera footage released by police shows Diagne walking with the rifle at his shoulder. In the video, Davis said, he can be seen pointing the weapon toward bystanders and then in the direction of officers. Three Austin officers opened fire, striking him multiple times. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Davis said 19 people in all were struck by gunfire, including Diagne. Three victims died and 15 others were injured, at least two critically.

“This was an active attack, and our officers acted within minutes to stop it,” Davis said. “Unfortunately, the suspect was able to fire a significant number of rounds in a very short period of time.”

Victims: students and visitors caught in the crowd

Officials identified the three slain victims as 19-year-old Ryder Harrington, a former Texas Tech University student; 21-year-old Savitha Shan, a UT Austin student; and 30-year-old mixed martial artist Jorge Pederson, who had traveled to Austin from Minnesota. Authorities said two of them died at the scene and Pederson died later at a hospital after being removed from life support.

The University of Texas at Austin president said in a statement that members of the campus community were among the dead and injured, calling it “a devastating blow” and urging students to seek counseling.

Outside Buford’s in the days after the shooting, flowers, candles and handwritten notes piled up along the sidewalk railing. Friends left beer cans and plastic cups at the growing memorial. Some bars along West Sixth dimmed their lights at dusk in tribute.

“We’ve all walked that street a thousand times,” said Lauren Martinez, a UT senior who lives nearby. “You never think it’s going to be your bar, your friends.”

Buford’s announced plans to reopen the following Friday and pledged to donate all proceeds through March 9 to victims and their families.

A lone attacker under terrorism probe

Authorities say Diagne, who lived in the Austin suburb of Pflugerville and previously spent time in New York City and San Antonio, acted alone. He was born in Senegal and came to the United States on a tourist visa in 2000 before becoming a lawful permanent resident and then a naturalized citizen in 2013.

Public records show a history of criminal and civil cases. In New York, he was arrested on minor charges in the early 2000s and was accused in 2016 of deliberately running over a woman with a company car in Brooklyn, seriously injuring her. In Texas, a 2022 divorce case included allegations of domestic violence and “cruel treatment.” Law enforcement officials have said he had a documented history of mental health issues.

Investigators said they found a Quran in his vehicle and are reviewing social media accounts believed to be his that contain pro-Iranian, antisemitic, anti-Christian and misogynistic posts. The accounts include praise for the “Islamic revolution” and denunciations of “Zionists” and Western leaders but, according to investigators, did not publicly outline a plan for violence.

At a joint briefing with local officials, an FBI representative said agents had uncovered “indicators that suggest a potential nexus to terrorism,” citing Diagne’s clothing and materials recovered from the vehicle, but cautioned that no final determination on motive had been made.

“As of today, we have not linked this individual to any foreign or domestic terrorist organization,” the official said. “We are pursuing all leads, including his online activity and any connections abroad.”

The shooting occurred one day after U.S. and Israeli forces carried out military strikes against Iran, part of a broader escalation that had already put federal and state security agencies on alert. Gov. Greg Abbott, who had ordered increased security after the strikes, said the Austin attack underscored “the reality that we are a state and a nation at war with those who seek to do us harm,” though he did not present specific evidence tying Diagne to Iranian authorities or groups.

The FBI said Diagne was not on any federal terrorism watchlist and was not under active investigation before March 1.

‘Safer Sixth’—and its limits

The attack marked one of the deadliest shootings on Sixth Street since 2021, when gunfire on East Sixth killed one person and wounded more than a dozen. That incident prompted a slate of new safety measures downtown, including improved lighting, a standing weekend EMS staging area and closer coordination among police, fire and medical crews.

In 2024, the city created a dedicated Downtown Area Command to oversee the central business district and stationed paramedics and fire units closer to the bar zones during peak hours. EMS Chief Rob Luckritz said those changes were evident in the March 1 response.

“Because we had units already staged in the entertainment district, medics began triaging and treating patients in less than a minute,” Luckritz said. He said critically injured victims were transported within 24 minutes and all patients were moved off the street within 47 minutes.

Davis noted that the department released body camera and surveillance footage, along with selected 911 and radio audio, within five days—ahead of its 10-day target for critical incidents—in an effort to maintain public trust.

Travis County District Attorney José Garza said his civil rights unit reviewed the officers’ use of deadly force against Diagne and would not pursue charges, citing video evidence and witness statements showing the gunman pointing his rifle toward others.

Despite the quick police work, the shooting has renewed debate over whether any amount of street-level security can stop a determined attacker armed with a rifle in a crowded public space.

“This is one of the most heavily policed areas in our city,” Watson said. “We still had a man with a gun able to harm a lot of people in a short amount of time.”

A blocked ambulance and questions about technology

As medics raced toward the scene, at least one ambulance briefly encountered an unexpected obstacle: a driverless Waymo taxi that became stuck in the roadway and blocked access, according to officials familiar with the response. The crew had to reverse and take another route before the vehicle moved.

The incident, which Waymo has declined to discuss publicly, has prompted questions from city leaders about how autonomous vehicles recognize and respond to emergency scenes and whether additional rules are needed in dense nightlife areas.

An uneasy return to normal

In the days after the shooting, uniformed officers and troopers with the Texas Department of Public Safety stood guard at West Sixth intersections as patrons filtered back into bars.

Abbott ordered the Texas Military Department to assist in protecting key sites statewide and law enforcement agencies in other cities increased patrols around schools and public venues “out of an abundance of caution.”

On West Sixth, the sidewalk memorial outside Buford’s grew even as the bar prepared to reopen. Some UT students said they planned to avoid the strip for a while. Others said they would return but with a different awareness of their surroundings.

“We’re used to seeing cops and EMS everywhere down here and thinking that makes it safe,” said Marcus Lee, 23, who works at a nearby restaurant. “They were here, they did their job, and it still happened.”

For now, yellowing bouquets and flickering candles mark the spot where the gunfire began, a reminder that even on a block saturated with flashing lights and patrol cars, a few minutes were enough to turn a familiar party street into a crime scene under terrorism investigation.