No evidence Austin mass shooting suspect was associated with a foreign terrorist organization, FBI concludes
The FBI has released new information about the mass shooting outside an Austin, Texas, bar in March that left three people dead, concluding the suspected shooter was a lone actor, who was not associated with a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
"There is no evidence of outside direction or radicalization; rather, the investigation indicates an escalation in violent behavior in part tied to specific personal triggers and grievances related to U.S. and Israeli military actions involving Iran, culminating in a violent, impulsive attack," according to a press release from the FBI.
Ndiaga Diagne, a 53-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Senegal, circled the bar on the popular 6th Street in Austin, Texas, in the early morning hours on March 1 and then opened fire on people outside the bar, according to authorities. Three people were killed and more a dozen were injured.
Diagne was killed in a confrontation with police officers.
The gunfire occurred the same weekend the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran, killing the country's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the opening hours of the war.
Initially, the FBI said it was investigating terrorism as a possible motive in the shooting.
"The investigation revealed that Diagne admired the recently deceased Iranian leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei," the FBI press release stated. "At the time of the attack Diagne was wearing clothes that included an Iranian flag design t-shirt and a sweatshirt that read: "Property of Allah." While Diagne's affinity for Iran and the Ayatollah were most certainly factors in his mobilization to violence, the FBI has not identified conclusive evidence to explain Diagne's motivation or how and why he selected the location for his attack."
The FBI said it had personnel from 14 field offices and headquarters at the scene of the shooting -- more than 400 in total along with state and local law enforcement partners.
The FBI says they will continue to pursue every lead related to the case.
