AUSTIN, Texas – Austin Police Department (APD) Chief Lisa Davis released video and two 911 calls from Sunday morning’s deadly mass shooting on Sixth Street.
Three people were killed and more than a dozen others were injured after the gunman drove past Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden, circled back and fired the first shots from his SUV.
The gunman, identified as 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne, then exited with a rifle and continued shooting before officers fatally shot him, police previously said.
Davis played video from a parked vehicle near the scene, which showed Diagne walking around a parking lot with an AR-15 in hand before he opened fire on a pedestrian.
The chief also played body-worn camera video from two APD officers — as well as surveillance video in downtown Austin — that showed the gunman’s confrontation with police.
“We didn’t do this for the shock value,” Davis said Thursday. “This is about being as transparent as we can.”
911 calls
Davis also played two 911 calls that were placed to dispatchers early Sunday morning.
In the first placed call, the dispatcher was heard asking for the attention from the 911 caller’s end.
“Hello, this is Austin 911,” the dispatcher said. “Hello, this is Austin 911.”
The caller was first heard giving directions to others who attempted to flee the gunfire.
“There are people dead over here,” the caller later told the dispatcher. “There have been multiple people shot, and we need help right now.”
The second placed 911 call reported “gunfire” at Buford’s.
“I heard, like, six gunshots,” the second caller told the 911 dispatcher. “Everybody ducked down onto the floor. We’re just right outside. We’re hiding in between cars.”
The second 911 caller also reported hearing “three more” gunshots.
No previous ‘contact’
Davis told reporters Thursday that the suspect had no prior contact or criminal record with Austin PD.
Based on what APD learned, Davis said a welfare check may have been called by a “New York” law enforcement agency on Diagne’s behalf in 2022.
Davis said those officers gave Diagne “resources to call.”
“I don’t think the ‘check welfare’ led to any commitment from there,” Davis said on Thursday.
Background
The victims of the shooting have been identified as Savitha Shan, 21; Ryder Harrington, 19; and Jorge Pederson, 30.
“These are two people that were dearly loved throughout this community, and that was quite clear,” Davis said Thursday, describing Shan and Harrington. “Both young individuals with bright futures ahead of them.”
Pederson, who was pronounced dead on Monday, had moved to Austin two weeks before the shooting, Davis said.
At this time, two people remain hospitalized following the shooting. One of the victims is in critical condition, Davis said.
In all, Austin police said Thursday that 19 victims were wounded during the Sunday shooting.
Investigators told reporters that Diagne legally bought the pistol and rifle he used in the attack several years ago in San Antonio and was not on the FBI’s radar.
Earlier this week, both the FBI and Austin police that it’s too soon to identify his motive for the shooting.
Davis said on Thursday that both agencies are still investigating whether the attack may have been an act of terrorism.
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