In its latest update on the March shooting at Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden in downtown Austin, the FBI said investigators have found no evidence linking the attack to a foreign terrorist organization. The agency said its inquiry continues, but it now characterizes Ndiaga Diagne as having acted alone when he carried out the early-morning attack that left three people dead and more than a dozen others wounded. As covered earlier in the case, the investigation’s focus has included the question of whether the gunman received outside direction. MSI previously reported that the FBI was probing whether the attack was connected to terrorism.
The FBI said it released a two-page update on Thursday describing its investigation into the attack that took place on March 1. Investigators said the shooting ended when Diagne was killed by police.
According to the FBI update, there is no evidence that Diagne was associated with a Foreign Terrorist Organization or that he received any direction, funding or operational support for his attack. The FBI said “The investigation to date indicates Diagne was a lone actor,” and added that the gunman had never been the subject of an FBI investigation prior to the shooting.
While investigators said they did not have direct evidence of a motive, the FBI described a likely trigger. The update said Diagne was likely “triggered into violent behavior by the war against Iran,” and it characterized the incident as “culminating in a violent, impulsive attack” at the bar.
The FBI also said investigators determined Diagne admired Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed after the attack. The FBI said Diagne’s affinity for Iran and for the former leader were likely factors in the attack he carried out on his own.
The FBI described that Diagne wore clothes with an Iranian flag design and the words “Property of Allah.” Police said Diagne drove past the bar before circling back and firing the first shots from his SUV at people on the sidewalk and inside the bar. Officers then rushed to the intersection, where the FBI said Diagne parked, got out with a rifle, and began shooting at people walking along the street before police shot him.
Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis previously said officers arrived within 56 seconds of the first 911 call and killed the shooter after he fired at police. Killed in the attack were Savitha Shan, Ryder Harrington and Jorge Pederson, the FBI said. The FBI said the investigation into the attack remains open.