FBI investigates deadly bar shooting in Texas as possible terrorist act
The FBI said it was looking into whether the attack, in which a gunman killed two people and injured 14, was linked to events in the Middle East
A gunman wearing clothes with an Iranian flag design and the words “Property of Allah” killed two people and wounded 14 early Sunday at a Texas bar, a law enforcement official told Associated Press. The FBI is investigating the shooting, which erupted a day after the US and Israel launched an attack on Iran, as a potential act of terrorism.
Police in Austin shot and killed the gunman, who used both a pistol and a rifle to carry out the attack, police said.
The shooting happened outside Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden just before 2am along Sixth Street, a nightlife destination filled with bars and music clubs and only a few kilometres from the University of Texas at Austin.
Nathan Comeaux, a 22-year-old senior, had spent the evening there with friends and said the bar was “full of college students, probably mostly UT kids, shoulder to shoulder, hundreds just enjoying their nights”.
The suspect drove past the bar several times before stopping and shooting from the window of his SUV at people on a patio and in front of the bar, according to Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis.
He then parked, got out with a rifle and began shooting at people walking along the street before officers rushed to the intersection and shot him, Davis said. Three of the injured were in critical condition Sunday morning, she said.