Austin Police released a trove of evidence in the investigation of the deadly shooting at a popular downtown nightspot that claimed the lives of three victims and the shooter.
On Thursday, police released body camera footage, security surveillance video, 911 call recordings, and recordings of police radio transmissions as the investigation into terrorism ties continues.
Police released the video and audio evidence on YouTube Thursday afternoon during a press conference in the Texas capital.
One shocking video captured by a parked vehicle shows shooter Ndiaga Diagne walking through a parking lot carrying a rifle before aiming the weapon at a target off camera and shooting.
Officer-worn body camera footage showed the chaos that ensued in the aftermath of the shooting. Patrons at the popular bar in the downtown entertainment district could be seen fleeing in a state of panic, ducking for cover, and hiding to avoid the gunfire. The video demonstrates the speed with which officers arrived on the scene, estimated at less than a minute, according to Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis.
Surveillance video captured images of the suspect wearing a hoodie-type sweatshirt with lettering that read, “Property of Allah”. The security cameras captured the movement of the shooters dark colored Cadillac SUV southbound on Rio Grande Street, as he pulled the vehicle alongside the establishment to fire a semi-automatic handgun at patrons at Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden early Sunday morning.
Frantic 911 calls from a witness described hearing gunshots and seeing police as they arrived. Another harrowing call began with the caller shouting for patrons to take cover multiple times before telling a 911 operator, “There has been a shooting at Buford’s on Sixth Street, there are people dead over here, there have been multiple people shot, we need help right now!”
Police radio traffic captured the tragedy police officers encountered as they arrived at the scene of the shooting, with one officer describing the wounds suffered by the victims and later asking for additional officers to help secure the crime scene. At the end of the recording provided by authorities, officers could be heard on the radio as gunfire was exchanged with the shooter, later identified as 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne. One officer could be heard screaming, “Shots fired, shots fired, the suspect is down!” shortly after the gunfire erupted.
As reported by Breitbart Texas, Sunday’s shooting claimed the lives of three victims, two pronounced dead at the scene and a third who succumbed to injuries at an area hospital days later. The shooter, Ndiaga Diagne was killed several blocks from the scene after exchanging gunfire with responding police officers.
The FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force is leading the investigation into the motive for Sunday’s shooting. The task force took the lead after initial evidence discovered in the immediate aftermath of the shooting showed “indicators of a potential nexus to terrorism” according to the FBI.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Before his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.
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