Live updates, what we know Monday

Local and federal officials continue to investigate a mass shooting that left three people dead — including the shooter — and 14 others injured in the area surrounding Buford’s, a bar in Austin’s popular West Sixth Street entertainment district, early Sunday morning.

Officials have identified the shooting suspect as Ndiaga Diagne, a Senegalese native who became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2013. The 53-year-old was shot and killed by Austin police during a rampage that is now being investigated by the FBI as a possible act of terrorism.

Although an agency official said it was too early to determine a motive, authorities disclosed that Diagne was wearing clothing that bore an image of the Iranian flag and the words “Property of Allah.” 

The shooting, which came one day after the U.S. and Israel launched a joint strike on Iran, erupted just before 2 a.m. outside Buford’s bar in the 700 block of West Sixth Street. Authorities have not confirmed any connection.

Follow along for updates on the investigation.

Buford’s, the bar where the mass shooting occurred Sunday, issued a statement Monday thanking law enforcement and expressing sympathy for those affected.

“No words can adequately express the sorrow we feel for those who lost loved ones or were injured,” the bar wrote on Instagram. “These were young people with their whole lives ahead of them, and our thoughts and prayers are with every family impacted.”

The statement also said the FBI offered grief counseling services to the Buford’s staff.

“We are committed to supporting our team and the broader community during this devastating time,” the statement continued.

-Katey Psencik, Breaking and Trending Editor

University of Texas Student Body President Hudson Thomas said on Instagram that he and student leaders would host a “prayer walk across campus” from 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday to grieve together.

 “When one of us experiences loss or deep sadness, it affects us all as a family,” he said. “The students at this institution have changed my life forever. May we come together to pray and to support one another.”

-Lily Kepner, Higher Education Reporter

Ndiaga Diagne, 53, the man authorities have identified as the shooter, lived in a modest residential area in Northeast San Antonio until about a year ago, according to a neighbor.

Related: Who were Ryder Harrington and Savitha Shan? What we know about the Austin shooting victims

The house is in the 4000 block of Indian Sunrise, a neighborhood of one-story wood-frame houses in a mixed industrial-residential part of the city. It is less than a mile east of Friendship Park in the city of Kirby.

The house where Diagne once lived is painted beige with white trim and has a small patch of lawn out front. Several houses on the same block appeared vacant.

On Monday, a folding chair was positioned outside the front door of Diagne’s former residence. On the chair was a Ruko security camera equipped with a speaker. When a reporter knocked on the door, a male voice said through the speaker, “Get off the property.”

A neighbor who lives across the street said Diagne moved out of the house about a year ago, and that the current occupants have no connection to him.

-Sig Christenson, San Antonio Express-News senior reporter

In a Monday email to campus, University of Texas President Jim Davis confirmed a “number of our students” were injured in the attack at Buford’s Sunday. He described the student who died, Savitha Shan, as “a child of loving parents. A loyal friend to many. A longhorn preparing to change the world.”

“It is devastating, and I know all of us are grieved by this horrible news,” he said. “And we will remember her.”

Davis said UT is boosting security and police patrols around campus. He also said UT has 24/7 confidential counseling and mental health support for students, and an employee assistance program to help support employees.

Davis said he has met with families of students injured and will continue to pray for them.

He also expressed his gratitude for the “compassion and strength” the UT community has shown in the wake of the shooting.

“Longhorns always look out for Longhorns. We lift each other up when we need it most. Now is one of those times,” Davis said. “I am confident that, together, we will find light through this darkness that presently surrounds us.”

-Lily Kepner, Higher Education Reporter

Officials have identified the two people killed in Sunday morning’s mass shooting on West Sixth Street as Savitha Shan, 21, and Ryder Harrington, 19. Police Chief Lisa Davis said in a Monday press conference that she did not know if Shan and Harrington attended any local colleges, but online reports indicate that Shan was a student at the University of Texas at Austin and Harrington was a student at Texas Tech University in Lubbock.

-Katey Psencik, Breaking and Trending Editor

Austin officials said Monday that the suspect in Sunday’s mass shooting legally purchased the firearms used in the attack in 2017 in San Antonio.

Police Chief Lisa Davis said the weapons were obtained legally, though authorities did not provide additional details about how the suspect later acquired or maintained possession of the guns.

The FBI is working alongside Austin police as investigators continue to review evidence, analyze surveillance footage and interview more than 150 witnesses.

“The last 36 hours have been some of the most challenging in my career,” Davis said, describing the crime scene as “complex and very large.”

FBI Special Agent Alex Doran said investigators are reviewing the suspect’s background, movements, social media activity and personal contacts to better understand what led to the violence.

Officials said body-camera footage and additional details about the suspect, including criminal history, are expected to be released later this week as part of the standard review of the officer-involved shooting that ended the attack.

Authorities also confirmed the suspect had not previously been on Austin police’s radar.

Police executed search warrants Sunday at multiple locations connected to the suspect, including a residence in Del Valle, focusing on gathering evidence and determining where he lived and spent time.

Officials said the attack will not alter current security plans for South by Southwest, which is scheduled to begin later this month.

-Dante Motley, Breaking News Reporter

Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said the death toll would rise following Sunday’s mass shooting as an additional person would be taken off of life support Monday, bringing the death toll to four — three shooting victims and the alleged shooter.

Davis confirmed the identities of two killed — Savitha Shan and Ryder Harrington — but did not share the identity of the victim that would be taken off of life support.

Alex Doran, active special agent with the FBI’s San Antonio office, said in a Monday press conference that any declaration of the suspect’s motive in Sunday’s mass shooting would be “premature.”

Both Doran and Davis said the suspect, Ndiaga Diagne, was previously not on law enforcement’s radar. Investigators are looking through thousands of hours of video and interviewing more than 150 witnesses, police said.

-Katey Psencik, Breaking and Trending Editor

Officials have identified the two people killed in Sunday morning’s mass shooting on West Sixth Street as Savitha Shan and Ryder Harrington.

The suspect, Ndiaga Diagne, was shot and killed by police during the shooting. Fourteen others were injured.

-Katey Psencik, Breaking and Trending Editor

The Austin Police Department and FBI will hold a joint press conference at 1 p.m. Monday. Watch a live stream below.

-Katey Psencik, Breaking and Trending Editor

John Santana, a resident in the Eastridge Apartments in Del Valle — the complex Diagne is believed to have lived in — said he was sitting in his kitchen Sunday morning when he heard law enforcement conducting a SWAT operation.

“I listened, ‘Hey, APD FBI,’ Santana told the American-Statesman. ‘There was nobody inside the apartment.’

Santana said officials arrived around 9:45 a.m., and around 11:15 a.m., he reported hearing what they described as law enforcement breaking a window and the sound of officers pulling the door off its hinges.

At one point, Santana and his roommate were recording the incident from their balcony, which overlooked the unit Diagne is believed to have lived in. An officer asked them to return inside, notifying them that officials were conducting an FBI operation.

Santana told the Statesman that he had not seen Diagne around the apartments and described the community as quiet and peaceful, with few law-enforcement-related disputes.

He reported being friends with his neighbors but never interacting with Diagne.

-Faith Bugenhagen, Breaking and Trending Reporter, and Austin Sanders, Public Safety Reporter

Austin City Council Member Zo Qadri, whose district includes downtown, announced a blood drive running from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday at Austin City Hall. The drive is open to walk-in donors only, and Qadri reminded potential donors to eat a full meal before donating and bring a photo ID to the drive.

Visit weareblood.org for requirements and recommendations for blood donors.

–Katey Psencik, Breaking and Trending Editor

Diagne, a native of Senegal, came to the U.S. in March 2000, on a tourist visa, according to the Department of Homeland Security. He became a lawful permanent resident in June 2006 based on a marriage to a U.S. citizen and then naturalized as a U.S. citizen in April 2013, the agency said.

In 2022, he was arrested in Texas in connection to a vehicle collision. Aside from that, Diagne doesn’t appear to have a criminal history in the state.

-Austin Sanders, Public Safety Reporter

A makeshift memorial sat out front of Buford’s on Monday morning, bouquets and a heart-shaped figure marking the spot out front of where Sunday’s mass shooting occurred.

A mango-flavored white claw, empty water and Michelob ULTRA bottles littered the front steps of the now-blocked off, vacant bar. Law enforcement was not located outside of the scene.

Impacts from bullet holes were marked on buildings and trees along West Sixth Street and an orange-and-white traffic barricade blocked off the entrance to Buford’s.

‘Heartbroken’: Governor, Texas leaders respond to deadly West 6th Street mass shooting

The stretch of West Sixth Street where Buford’s stands remained closed for most of Sunday as officials investigated but was open to traffic Monday morning.

Authorities said the investigation remains active and that additional details, including the identities of the victims, will be released as they become available. 

Photos: Aftermath of West 6th Street mass shooting

Anyone searching for family members or friends in connection with the shooting is asked to call the Austin Police Department’s Victim Services Unit at 512-974-5037.

Police also said anyone with photos, videos or other information is encouraged to submit them to investigators.

-Faith Bugenhagen, Breaking and Trending Reporter