Officials in Texas are continuing to investigate a weekend mass shooting at an Austin bar by a man wearing a “Property of Allah” hoodie as an act of potential terrorism, as fears rise over the possibility of further attacks following US airstrikes on Iran.
Police shot and killed Ndiaga Diagne, 53, a Senegalese national and naturalized US citizen, early on Sunday after he reportedly opened fire at the downtown bar popular with university students. Two people were killed, and another 14 wounded, some of them seriously.
On Monday, detectives in Austin, joined by the FBI’s joint terrorism taskforce (JTTF), were investigating the suspect’s motives and possible links to organized groups, although they said Diagne appeared to have been “a lone actor”.
FBI special agent Alex Doran, of the bureau’s San Antonio field office, told a press conference on Sunday: “There were indicators that, on the subject and in his vehicle, indicate [a] potential nexus to terrorism. It’s still too early to make a determination on that.”
The Austin attack came hours after the US launched airstrikes in Iran at Donald Trump’s direction. The Associated Press, citing an unidentified law enforcement official, said the gunman wore a T-shirt under his hoodie with an Iranian flag design.
The Site Intelligence Group said on Sunday that Diagne had expressed “pro-Iranian regime sentiment and hatred for Israeli and American leadership” in Facebook posts dating back to 2017 – and had posted a picture of himself holding what appears to be an assault rifle.
One of the victims was named on Monday by Dustin Burrows, speaker of the Texas house of representatives, as Ryder Harrington, a student at Texas Tech University.
A GoFundMe appeal set up by a person identifying themself as a fellow member of the university’s Beta Theta Pi chapter fall 2024 pledge class called Harrington “a beloved son, brother, and friend whose kindness and presence touched countless lives”.
A post on Instagram said a vigil would take place in Austin on Monday night.
The escalating Middle East conflict has prompted authorities at a national level, and in several major US cities, to step up security measures.
Kash Patel, the FBI director, posted on X that agents were working “around the clock” to keep Americans safe.
“Last night I instructed our counterterrorism and intelligence teams to be on high alert and mobilize all assisting security assets needed. Our JTTFs throughout the country are working 24/7, as always, to address and disrupt any potential threats to the homeland,” he said.
The San Diego Union-Tribune, meanwhile, said it had obtained an advisory from the Pentagon’s Northern Command (Norcom) urging military bases to “remain alert to the potential for attacks targeting US facilities and personnel”.
The newspaper said Naval Base Coronado, a major facility in San Diego comprising nine separate sea and air divisions, had warned of increased base security causing delays at entrance gates.
The New York police department released a statement on Saturday urging residents to be vigilant.
“The NYPD is closely monitoring events in Iran and the Middle East and coordinating with our federal and international partners,” it said in a statement posted on social media.
“As is our protocol and out of an abundance of caution, we will be enhancing patrols to sensitive locations throughout the city, including diplomatic, cultural, religious, and other relevant sites.”
In Los Angeles, which has a large Iranian community, officials were also responding to what they said was a heightened threat of terrorism.
“We are closely monitoring for any threats to Los Angeles’ public safety amid military action in the Middle East,” Karen Bass, the city’s Democratic mayor, said in a post on X.
“While there are no known credible threats at this time, LAPD has stepped up patrols near places of worship, community spaces, and other areas of the city, and we will remain vigilant in protecting our city. We understand that many Angelenos are affected and deeply concerned, and encourage everyone to voice their views in a peaceful way.”
In January, a person driving a van with banners urging the US not to support a return to Iran of Reza Pahlavi, son of the country’s former shah, plowed into a demonstration by his supporters in Los Angeles.
So far at least, the homeland security department’s National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) has not issued any new advice after the start of US military action in Iran.
In June last year, on the same day the Trump administration launched airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, the NTAS published a bulletin warning of a “heightened threat environment” in the US.
“The conflict could also motivate violent extremists and hate crime perpetrators seeking to attack targets perceived to be Jewish, pro-Israel, or linked to the US government or military in the homeland,” it said at the time.
In a statement in response to the Austin shooting on Sunday, Greg Abbott, the state’s Republican governor, said he had initiated efforts to “safeguard our communities”, including stepping up patrols at energy facilities, ports and the border with Mexico.
“To anyone who thinks about using the current conflict in the Middle East to threaten Texans or our critical infrastructure, understand this clearly: Texas will respond with decisive and overwhelming force to defend our state,” he said.
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