At least three people were confirmed as killed—and 14 injured—in a mass shooting in the Texan state capital Austin in the early hours of Sunday March 1st, A gunman opened fire at a popular nightspot, prompting rapid police intervention, which meant the attacker was shot dead at the scene.
The shooting occurred in Austin’s well-known entertainment district, West Sixth Street, in the early hours of the morning, as Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden was preparing to close. Police officers arrived within minutes and confronted the gunman, leading to an exchange of gunfire in which the attacker was killed.
Emergency services confirmed multiple fatalities, and 14 injured victims were transported to hospital, several of them in critical condition. Witnesses reported hearing at least 17 gunshots and described scenes of “complete chaos” as people fled in panic. Police and local officials said the rapid response likely prevented further loss of life.
Initially, authorities did not release the identity of the suspect, shot near the University of Texas-Austin campus, and his motive remained unclear. Yet the shooter was later described as a U.S. citizen from Senegal, with a Quran in his car, and dressed in clothing described as Islamic garb.
This latest mass shooting incident echoes the events on Saturday, December 13th last year, where two students were killed and at least nine other people injured in a shooting at Brown University in Rhode Island.
