Suspect in Texas mass shooting suspected of being terror attack had prior arrest in NYC

Leonard Greene and Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News on Mar 3, 2026

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A gunman behind the Sunday mass shooting in Texas suspected of being an act of terror outside a crowded bar had ties to the Bronx and a prior arrest in Manhattan, according to officials and records.

Authorities said Ndiaga Diagne, 53, was killed in a shootout with members of the Austin Police Department following the carnage in the heart of the city’s entertainment district. Two were killed and 14 wounded in the attack, which came shortly after the U.S. launched an attack on Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Diagne, a naturalized citizen and a native of Senegal, recently lived in the Bronx. Published reports pointed to a Bronx connection as well, though efforts to reach people from his old neighborhood who knew him Monday were unsuccessful.

In May 2017, while working as a licensed TLC livery driver, he was sued by a pedestrian who said that in January 2016 Diagne, driving a Toyota, struck him on Flatbush Avenue while making a turn. The disposition of the suit wasn’t clear, though Diagne’s TLC license expired in 2020, a police source said.

Diagne, the source also said, had one prior arrest on his New York record for illegal vending in Times Square. Three other city arrests on his record are sealed, the source said. The disposition of his arrest was not clear late Monday.

FBI investigators said the shooting may have been a terrorist act. Officials said Diagne wore clothing featuring an Iranian flag design and the words “property of Allah.” and had a Quran in his possession, but officials caution that the motive is still under investigation.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, Diagne first entered the U.S. in 2000 on a tourist visa. He became a lawful permanent resident six years later after marrying a U.S. citizen.

Local law enforcement authorities said the suspect had a history of mental health issues.

The shooting erupted just before 2 a.m. outside Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden on West Sixth Street, a busy nightlife corridor in downtown Austin, officials said.

“This incident started with calls for a male shooting at Buford’s Bar on West Sixth Street,” Police Chief Lisa Davis said during a news briefing. “Officers immediately transitioned, and were faced with the individual with a gun. Three of our officers returned fire, killing the suspect.”

Authorities said Diagne used both a pistol and a rifle during the attack.

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