FBI probes Texas bar shooting that killed 2 as possible terrorist act

crime

Police in Austin shot and killed the gunman, who used a handgun and a rifle to carry out the attack, police said.

By Jack Mayer, Alana Durkin Richer, John Sewer and Kathleen Ronayne, The Associated Press

March 1, 2026

3 minutes to read

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A gunman wearing clothing emblazoned with the Iranian flag and the phrase “King of God” killing Two people and 14 others were injured early Sunday at a bar in Texas, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The FBI is investigating the shooting, which broke out a day after the United States and Israel launched an attack on Iran, as a possible act of terrorism.

Police in Austin shot and killed the gunman, who used a handgun and a rifle to carry out the attack, police said.

The shooting happened outside Buford’s backyard beer garden just before 2 a.m. along Sixth Street, a nightlife destination filled with bars and music clubs and just a few miles (kilometres) from the University of Texas at Austin.

Nathan Comeau, 22, spent the evening there with friends, and said the bar was “full of college students, probably mostly UT students, shoulder to shoulder, hundreds enjoying their night out.”

The suspect drove by the bar several times before stopping and shooting out the window of his SUV at people in the courtyard and in front of the bar, according to Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis.

Davis said he then stopped the car, got out with a rifle and began shooting at people walking down the street before officers rushed to the intersection and shot him. She added that three of the injured were in critical condition on Sunday morning.

The Ministry of Homeland Security said in a statement that the gunman was named Ndiaja Diagne, 53 years old.

Cuomo had left the bar to grab pizza from a food truck across the street about 10 minutes before the first shots were fired. He said no one around the pizza truck understood what was happening, and some thought the noise was fireworks or a loud motorcycle.

Cuomo said he hid behind a bench for about a minute before emerging, and saw police officers running toward the scene. He took out his phone to start recording. That’s when more shots rang out. Cuomo said he saw the suspect point his gun at police before officers shot him.

He said he knows someone who was shot, and he guesses many University of Texas students do as well.

“The UT community has certainly been greatly impacted by this,” he said.

Alex Duran, acting agent in charge of the FBI’s San Antonio office, said authorities did not provide a clear motive for the attacks but found “indications” on the gunman and in his car that lead them to consider the possibility of terrorism.

“It’s still too early to make a decision on that,” Duran said Sunday morning.

Diane 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 U.S. citizen, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The department said he became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2013. Diagne was originally from Senegal, according to several people briefed on the investigation who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly.

The White House said President Donald Trump had been briefed on the shooting.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott warned that the state would respond forcefully to anyone who tried to “use the current conflict in the Middle East to threaten Texas.”

University of Texas at Austin President Jim Davis said on social media that some of those affected included “members of our Longhorn family.”

“Our prayers are with the victims and all those affected,” university President Jim Davis said.

Davis said the entertainment area sees a heavy police presence on weekends, and officers were able to confront the gunman within a minute of the first call for help.

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson praised the quick response by police and rescuers.

“They definitely saved lives,” he said.

There have been at least two high-profile shootings in Austin’s Sixth Street Entertainment District over the past five years, including one in the summer of 2021 that left 14 people injured. Although this weekend’s shooting does not meet the definition of a mass murder, there have been five so far this year.

Sewer reported from Toledo, Ohio; Durkin Richter of Washington and Ronen of Sacramento, California. Associated Press writers Rebecca Santana in Washington and Olivia Diaz in Richmond, Virginia, contributed. ___ Diaz is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for U.S. House of Representatives News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.