The alleged gunman, a naturalized US citizen born in Senegal, allegedly had a Quran in his car
The suspected gunman who killed 2 and wounded 14 others Sunday morning in a shooting in Austin, Texas, wore a sweatshirt that read “Property of Allah” and a shirt bearing the Iranian flag, the Associated Press reported. The New York Post added soon after that authorities found a Quran in the suspect’s car.
Law enforcement identified the suspect as 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Senegal. Fox News reported that, according to federal officials, Diagne became a citizen in 2013 under the Obama administration. While authorities have said it is too early to announce a motive, the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating the shooting—which took place at a bar near the University of Texas’s campus—as a possible act of terror.
Alex Doran, acting special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Antonio field office, said the FBI found “indicators” of a “potential nexus to terrorism” on the suspect and in his vehicle. Police killed the gunman at the scene of the attack.
The shooting came just a day after the United States and Israel initiated their joint military campaign against the Islamic Republic with a round of strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei among many other regime leaders and destroyed government and military infrastructure across the country. FBI director Kash Patel said Saturday afternoon that he had placed the bureau’s intelligence and counterterrorism teams on high alert, and the U.S. Secret Service announced Saturday that it would increase its presence around the White House, President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Fla., and other sites across the country.
“FBI personnel are fully engaged on the situation overseas,” Patel wrote in a post on X Saturday afternoon. “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.”
German intelligence, as well, has indicated that it is on the lookout for potential Tehran-linked terror cells carrying out attacks in Western countries.
