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AUSTIN, Texas (CN) — During a news conference on Monday, Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis identified the two people killed during the mass shooting that took place in a popular nightlife area in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The victims killed in the shooting on West Sixth Street are 19-year-old Ryder Harrington and 21-year-old Savitha Shan. Harrington was a student at Texas Tech University, while Shan was a student at the University of Texas at Austin.
Jim Davis, UT Austin’s president, said Shan was “a child of loving parents” and “a loyal friend to many” in a message to students on Monday. Davis also said a number of UT students were wounded during the attack, some sustaining serious injuries.
Lisa Davis said of the three people who were initially taken to the hospital in critical condition, one will soon be removed from life support, while the other two remain in critical condition. A total of 14 people were injured in the shooting.
During the conference, the police chief joined Austin Mayor Kirk Watson and FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Alex Doran to offer an update about the ongoing investigation into the shooting.
“This is a complicated and large crime scene,” Lisa Davis said. “Our priority is finding answers and the motives behind this crime.”
Police have named 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne as the suspected shooter. Search warrants have been executed on properties connected to the suspect. Davis confirmed that the guns used in the shooting, a rifle and a pistol, were acquired legally in San Antonio around 2017.
Diagne is a naturalized U.S. citizen who is originally from Senegal. According to the Department of Homeland Security, he initially came to the country on a tourist visa in 2000 and gained permanent lawful residence in 2006 through marriage. He became a citizen in 2013.
As of Monday, officials said a motive could not be confirmed.
“We are poring through thousands of hours of video, we have massive amounts of both digital and physical evidence and this is an around-the-clock, 24-hour investigation at this point,” Doran said during the conference. “Any declarations on what led to the motive would be premature.”
On Sunday, Doran noted the FBI is looking into the shooting as “potentially an act of terrorism.”
A photo from the shooting, before the suspect was killed by police, appears to show Diagne wearing a sweatshirt with the words “Property of Allah” emblazoned across the front. The Associated Press reported the shooter also wore a shirt depicting the Iranian flag, raising speculation that the shooting was connected to the U.S. and Israel launching military strikes on Iran.
The shooting began around 2 a.m. on Sunday, as the suspect shot at bar patrons through his window with a pistol, according to police. The suspect then moved his SUV to a side street and walked back to Sixth Street with a rifle and began shooting again.
First responders were on the scene within less than a minute after the shooting began, with police returning fire, killing the shooter, while paramedics began rendering aid to those injured.
The mayor commended first responders for doing a tremendous job, moving quickly and saving lives.
“There were a lot of acts of heroism on Sunday morning,” Watson said.
As the investigation into the shooting is ongoing, city officials said current details are subject to change. Davis said the Austin Police Department will be releasing more information, including body camera footage and the suspect’s criminal history, later this week.
The city is asking anyone with photo, video or physical evidence of the attack to upload it using a QR code.
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