A gunman opened fire outside a crowded bar on West Sixth Street early Sunday, killing two people and injuring 14 others before Austin police shot and killed him, authorities said.
The attack struck one of Austin’s busiest nightlife corridors just before closing time, sending patients to hospitals across the region and prompting a federal inquiry after investigators said they found signs that raised questions about the shooter’s motive. Officials said three injured people were in critical condition late Sunday, while detectives worked to identify victims and notify families.
Police said the first 911 call came at 1:59 a.m. Sunday, March 1, reporting a man shooting near Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden in the 700 block of West Sixth Street. Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said the suspect drove an SUV around the block several times, then turned on the hazard lights, rolled down a window and fired a pistol toward people gathered on the patio and sidewalk. Davis said the gunman then drove a short distance west, parked, got out carrying a rifle and fired again at people walking nearby. Officers already stationed in the area for weekend crowds reached the scene quickly, Davis said, and three officers confronted the armed man and shot him. Austin-Travis County EMS Chief Robert Luckritz said medics treated 17 people at the scene, with 14 taken to hospitals and three pronounced dead there, including the shooter.
Authorities did not immediately release the names or ages of the victims, saying they wanted to notify relatives first. Luckritz said three patients were in critical condition, while other injured people were treated for gunshot wounds and related injuries in the scramble outside the bar. Mayor Kirk Watson credited the speed of the response for keeping the death toll from rising. “They definitely saved lives,” Watson said. Police told families searching for loved ones to work through victim services staff as hospitals matched patients with relatives. Investigators also said they were still sorting out where each victim was hit and whether some injuries happened in the panic as people tried to run for cover. Officials did not identify the hospitals that received patients, and they did not say how many victims had been released by Sunday night.
Federal agents joined the case within hours as authorities weighed whether the shooting had a terrorism connection. Alex Doran, the acting special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Antonio office, told reporters investigators found “indicators” on the suspect and in his vehicle that suggested a “potential nexus to terrorism,” but he said it was too early to reach a final conclusion. The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force began working alongside Austin detectives, and officials said evidence and digital forensic teams were also involved. Police said they recovered a pistol and a rifle at the scene and collected other items for testing. A team checked the SUV as a precaution, officials said, and police continued to seal off blocks of downtown while they gathered shell casings, mapped shooting locations and tracked down witnesses.
Authorities identified the gunman as Ndiaga Diagne, 53, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Senegal who lived in Pflugerville, a suburb north of Austin. Federal officials said Diagne entered the United States in 2000 and later became a lawful permanent resident before he was naturalized in 2013. Law enforcement officials said Diagne had a history of mental health issues, though they did not provide details. A law enforcement official briefed on the inquiry said the gunman wore clothing with the words “Property of Allah” and an Iranian flag design during the attack. Officials did not say what those items meant or whether they pointed to a specific ideology, and investigators said they were reviewing the suspect’s background, contacts and online activity as they worked to establish a motive.
Witnesses and bystanders described a fast-moving scene in a tight stretch of bars, food trucks and late-night crowds. Nathan Comeaux, a 22-year-old University of Texas at Austin senior, said Buford’s was packed with students and visitors. He said he had stepped away to grab pizza from a truck across the street about 10 minutes before the first shots, and people nearby first thought the noise could be fireworks or a loud motorcycle. Comeaux said he hid behind a bench, then saw police running toward the gunfire, and he began recording as more shots rang out. Another bystander, Kelson Lee, 25, told a local outlet he walked inside looking for a friend and saw several people on the floor as medics and civilians tried to help. “No one should ever have to see that,” Lee said.
The Sixth Street corridor has long been a focal point of Austin nightlife, drawing crowds on weekends and keeping patrol officers and medics nearby during peak hours. Buford’s sits on the western end of the entertainment area, a part of downtown that can be shoulder-to-shoulder near bar closing time. Authorities said that weekend police presence helped officers reach the shooting within about a minute of the first call. The district has also seen major violence before. In 2021, another shooting in the Sixth Street area injured 14 people, and officials have pointed to that history when describing why extra resources are often assigned there at night.
Investigators said the shooter acted alone and that no further suspects were being sought, though detectives continued to interview witnesses who may have seen the SUV circle and stop near the bar. With the suspect dead, prosecutors are not expected to file charges against him, but officials said the case remains a major investigation because of the number of victims and the possibility of federal charges if evidence shows the act was planned for a terror-related purpose. Police said the medical examiner will conduct autopsies on the two people killed and confirm the cause of death for the shooter. Detectives said they will review surveillance footage from nearby businesses and camera footage from responding officers, then complete ballistic work to match casings and bullets to the recovered weapons.
Public officials reacted through the day as investigators worked the scene. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott offered condolences and said he directed state police and the Texas National Guard to intensify patrols and surveillance, including additional weekend staffing in Austin’s Sixth Street area. University of Texas President Jim Davis said some of those affected included members of the campus community and thanked first responders and medical teams. Austin City Council members also said the city was shaken and praised the emergency response, while police union groups highlighted the speed with which officers confronted the gunman. Authorities said they would provide more information once families are notified and early evidence work is complete.
By Sunday night, police had not released victim names, three injured people remained in critical condition, and the FBI and city detectives continued reviewing the suspect’s movements and possible motive. Officials said their next public briefing would come after investigators complete initial evidence collection and confirm victim identities.
Author note: Last updated March 1, 2026.