In the early hours of Sunday March 1st, a mass shooting occurred in Downtown Austin, Texas. The shooting left three deceased and thirteen injured. The offender, 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne, had opened fire along the lively downtown scene in his SUV, driving to shoot at people walking by. Police quickly responded and ultimately shot Diagne.

Currently, the scene is being investigated, with the FBI considering the possibility of it being a terrorist attack due to the recent U.S. declaration of war on Iran. Officials told CNN that, “The suspect was wearing a shirt with an Iranian flag design on it underneath a hoodie printed with ‘Property of Allah’.” The overall motive is still unclear with law enforcement citing that they don’t want to make premature conclusions in the case. In response to the shooting, Texas Governor Greg Abbott denounced the attack and ensured an increase in law enforcement across the state to combat anyone “using the current conflict in the Middle East to threaten Texans”.

The shooting happened less than 2 miles away from the University of Texas at Austin in front of a bar that was “full of college students, probably mostly UT kids, shoulder to shoulder, hundreds just enjoying their nights” as described by Nathan Comeaux, 22-year-old college senior at the bar. Two of the victims that died, Ryder Harrington and Savitha Shan, were both college students who attended Texas Tech and the University of Texas respectively.

The last victim who died on Monday as a result of the shooting was Jorge Pederson. The 30-year-old had recently moved to Texas and was a rising MMA fighter who was “going to go pro in May” as stated by his family. They described Pederson as “a very healthy, loving, funny young man”.

While no definitive motive for the shooting has been identified, many families are still dealing with the devastating impacts of the night. However, Gov. Abbott reaffirmed the state’s resilience and stated that “This act of violence will not define us… nor will it shake the resolve of Texans.”