Austin 6th Street shooting: 3 ᴅᴇᴀᴅ; image shows apparent gunman as terror ties probed

AUSTIN, Texas – Three people, including the gunman, were killed, and 14 others were wounded in a mᴀss shooting outside a bar in Austin’s bustling Sixth Street entertainment district early Sunday morning that authorities said may have ties to terrorism.

At a press conference early Sunday, Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said police received a call around 1:40 a.m. for reports of a “male shooting” at Buford’s, a beer garden in the city’s busy entertainment district.

When police arrived at the scene, they confronted a man with a gun and then “returned fire, killing the suspect,” Davis said.

According to the ᴀssociated Press, the Department of Homeland Security later identified the gunman as 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Senegal who lived in Pflugerville, a suburb north of Austin.

According to EMS Chief Robert Luckritz, three people died at the scene and 14 people were taken to hospitals. Three of those injured were in critical condition.

Davis said that the gunman had two weapons during the shooting, but that he never entered the bar.

“He drove by, was firing outside the window with a pistol,” Davis said. “Once he exited the vehicle after parking on Wood, he exited with a rifle at that point.”

Davis said an explosives team was called in to evaluate the gunman’s vehicle after investigators found concerning items inside. No bombs were found, however.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he has directed the Texas Department of Public Safety and the National Guard to step up patrols in surveillance across the state as part of Operation Fury Shield.

DPS will also increase patrols in the Sixth Street district, Abbott said.

An image obtained by FOX News purportedly shows the shooter wearing a sweatshirt that reads “Property of Allah.”

According to the ᴀssociated Press, the gunman, now identified as 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne, was wearing a T-shirt underneath the sweatshirt that had an Iranian flag on it.