Ndiaga Diagne, an American citizen of Senegalese origin on Sunday night killed three people and wounded 14 others in Austin, Texas, USA. He was shot dead at the scene by police.
According to Site Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist groups, he had “expressed pro-Iranian regime views and hatred toward Israeli and American leaders” in A Facebook posts shared between 2017 and 2019, and had posted a photo of himself holding what appeared to be an assault rifle.
A photo shared on X by Republican Texas Representative Chip Roy showed Diagne armed with a rifle and wearing a sweatshirt that read: “Property of Allah.”
The attack occurred between Saturday night and Sunday morning near a bar in a busy area of downtown Austin. Three of the wounded remained in critical condition, authorities said.
Alex Doran, an official with the FBI’s San Antonio office, told a press conference: “It is still far too early in the investigation to determine a precise motive, but there was evidence on the suspect and in his vehicle that indicates a potential link to terrorism.”
The attack occurred a few hours after the launch on Saturday of an intense Israeli-American airstrike campaign against Iran, which killed the country’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, and has fuelled fears of retaliatory attacks in the United States.
Diagne entered the United States in March 2000 on a B‑2 tourist visa, CNN and the Associated Press reported, citing the Department of Homeland Security. In June 2006, he became a lawful permanent resident after marrying a US citizen and was naturalised in 2013, the outlets reported.
Law enforcement officials said he had a history of mental health conditions, according to an internal update from the National Counterterrorism Centre reviewed by Reuters.
