The FBI said on Thursday that the gunman who carried out a mass shooting in downtown Austin on March 1 was motivated in part by grievances over U.S. and Israeli military actions against Iran and admiration for the slain Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei. But investigators found no evidence that he was directed or supported by a foreign terrorist group, the bureau said.
Ndiaga Diagne, 53, killed three people and wounded 15 others outside Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden on Austin’s West Sixth Street before police fatally shot him during an exchange of gunfire, according to the FBI.
The FBI said that roughly 400 people from across the bureau and partner law enforcement agencies assisted in the investigation, which included reviewing more than 3,000 videos and 150 million digital files. Authorities also conducted 88 interviews, executed 22 search warrants and seized 30 electronic devices as part of the ongoing probe.
“There is no evidence of outside direction or radicalization,” the bureau stated on Thursday. “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.”
The FBI said that Diagne, who acted alone and had never previously been the subject of an investigation by the bureau, wore clothing featuring an Iranian flag and a sweatshirt stating “property of Allah” during the attack. Investigators said he “admired” Khamenei, who was killed in the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February.
“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,” authorities stated.
