Law enforcement officials in Austin have identified the three people killed during a mass shooting in the city’s entertainment district early Sunday morning.
Investigators said they were examining terrorism as a potential motive for the attack, which came just a day after the U.S. and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran that killed the nation’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The victims of the shooting were identified as Jorge Pederson, 30, Ryder Harrington, 19, and Savitha Shan, 21, according to Austin Police.
Around 2 a.m. on Sunday, a man in a SUV arrived in Austin’s entertainment district and began firing a handgun out of his window at a crowd of people near Buford’s beer garden. The gunman then exited the vehicle and continued to fire a handgun and later a rifle at people on the street.
Nearby Austin Police Department units rushed to the scene and fatally shot the gunman. Police have identified the suspected gunman as Ndiaga Diagne, 53.
In addition to the three fatalities, 13 people were injured in the attack.
Shan was a student at the University of Texas, according to the school’s president, Jim Davis.
“It is devastating, and I know all of us are grieved by this horrible news, and we will remember her,” Davis said in a statement on Monday.
Assistant UT Professor Russ Finney remembered Shan as an ambitious, intelligent student who was involved in her campus community.
“Savitha was one of our superstar students at the UT Austin McCombs school of business – she was set to graduate this May, and then she was on to start her career at a big professional services firm,” he wrote in a social media post. “She was a double major with honors. Involved in student organizations – a light in the classroom. Absolutely crushing to lose her.”
Both Finney and Davis noted that other UT students were injured in the attack and described some of their injuries as “very serious.”
Pederson was “an inspiration in Mixed martial arts,” according to an online fundraiser collecting donations for funeral costs.
The organizer said that Pederson “showed many new fighters that their dreams were attainable through hard work and dedication, no matter who you are.”
“His impact at the gym was that of a welcoming, warm and tough presence that changed many lives for the better,” the fundraiser said. “Jorge had a bright future that was cut short in the March 1st Austin, Texas shooting at Buford’s Bar. He will not soon be forgotten.”
Harrington was a student at Texas Tech University, according to social media posts from his brother and a local politician.
Harrington’s brother, Reed, wrote an emotional post on social media remembering his sibling.
“It is unfair, to say the least, that my little brother was only given 19 years on this earth,” Reed Harrington wrote. “Watching the man he had become, and seeing all the lives he touched, leaves me certain that this world was robbed of a great future.”
He added that “I don’t think life will ever feel normal again. I have no idea what I’m supposed to do, but I know you will always be there to guide me and be my mentor.”
His sister, Reagan, also shared the pain of her loss on social media.
“I can’t believe you aren’t with me right now,” she wrote. “Nothing would be enough to express how special you are to me. I’m not sure how we’re meant to work through this — all I can think about is seeing you again.”
Texas State House Speaker Dustin Burrows also commented on the young man’s death.
“From all accounts, Ryder was exactly the kind of young man who made a difference without even trying — full of life, loyal to his friends, proud to be a Red Raider and a Texan, and someone who showed up for the people around him,” Burrows wrote.
Harrington’s fraternity, Beta Theta Pi, held a candlelight vigil for the victims of the shooting on Monday night, according to the Denton Record-Chronicle. One of his fraternity brothers also launched a GoFundMe which is collecting donations for Harrington’s family.
The suspected gunman, Diagne, was reportedly a Senegalese national who became a naturalized U.S. citizen and has been in the country for 26 years. He resided in Pflugerville, Texas, according to four law enforcement sources who spoke to NBC News.
The same sources told NBC News that, at the time of the shooting, Diagne wore a sweatshirt that said “Property of Allah” and a shirt underneath that featured an Iranian-flag motif.
On Sunday, FBI Special Agent Alex Doran told reporters that “There were indicators on the subject and in his vehicle that indicate potential nexus to terrorism,” but emphasized that it is “still too early to make a determination on that.”
During a Monday news conference, officials said that Diagne was not on the radar of either the Austin Police Department or the FBI.
