Ndiaga Diagne, a 53-year-old naturalized US citizen from Senegal, was identified as the suspect in the shooting at Buford’s bar in Austin, Texas, early Sunday morning. But, as of now, authorities have not named a suspect.
Diagne was identified by news outlets CBS Austin, Fox News and the New York Post, citing multiple law enforcement sources. He was killed outside the bar on West 6th Street in Austin in an encounter with the law enforcement.
Amid that, far-right influencer Laura Loomer, who also identified the suspect in a post X, claimed to have found Diagne’s social media profile. She shared that Diagne had purportedly posted anti-Trump content and was a fan of another far-right influencer, Candace Owens.
Ht.com could not independently confirm the authenticity of the social media profile shared by Loomer. Though it bears the name of Ndiaga Diagne, it cannot be determined for sure that the user behind the account is of the shooter.
Of the 14 victims who were injured in the shooting Sunday, three have died while 11 remain in critical condition. The suspect opened fired from outside the bar on West 6th Street and used a pistol, a handgun and a rifle.
The profile that Loomer shared shows to have been created in October 2024. The posts on the profile show that the user in question seems anti-Trump, calling him “shameless clown” on one occasion in a X repost.
The post that Loomer shared showed an attack where the concerned user had slammed Loomer over a post she made on Candace Owens. He called Loomer a few explicit in the X post. Notably, the profile has only seven followers and follows only seven people.
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Ndiaga Diagne Motive: What We Know
The motive behind the shooting on Sunday morning has not been confirmed by the FBI. The FBI’s agent in charge at the Austin field office, Alex Doran, said that “there were indicators that on the subject and in his vehicle that indicate potential nexus to terrorism.” Doran, however, has not confirmed what those indicators were.
Details, however, emerged from news reports. New York Post reported citing law enforcement sources that a Quran was found in the suspect’s car and added that the incident could be linked to US-Israeli strikes on Iran on Saturday that resulted in the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Bill Melguin of Fox News obtained a purported photo of the suspect. “I am told he was also wearing an undershirt that had an Iranian flag on it,” he wrote on X.