Ryder Harrington and Savitha Shan were the two people killed in a Texas bar shooting early Sunday, Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said at a news conference Monday.
The shooting, which also injured 14 other people, unfolded just outside a popular beer garden in downtown Austin. The suspect, who was fatally shot by officers, had a history of mental illness, sources familiar with the investigation told NBC News.
Davis and Alex Doran, a special agent with the San Antonio FBI field office, said the suspect was not a previously known threat to either of their offices. Davis said the guns used in the shooting were acquired legally in San Antonio in 2017.
Authorities are still working to determine a motive in the shooting, including whether it was an act of terrorism.
Harrington, 19, was a Texas Tech University student, according to social media posts from his siblings and from a local politician.
Davis said that she believed Shan was around 24 years old but that she did not know where the young woman attended college.
Ryder Harrington was beloved by many
“Ryder was the best mix of all the Harrington crew,” his brother, Reed Harrington, wrote on Facebook in a post confirming his death. He said the entire family appreciates the condolences they have received.
“It is unfair, to say the least, that my little brother was only given 19 years on this earth,” Reed Harrington wrote. “Watching the man he had become, and seeing all the lives he touched, leaves me certain that this world was robbed of a great future.”
The brother added, “I don’t think life will ever feel normal again. I have no idea what I’m supposed to do, but I know you will always be there to guide me and be my mentor.”
Harrington’s sister, Reagan Harrington, called him her “best friend” in an Instagram post memorializing him, adding, “I can’t believe you aren’t with me right now.”
“Nothing would be enough to express how special you are to me,” Reagan Harrington wrote. “I’m not sure how we’re meant to work through this — all I can think about is seeing you again.”
Ryan Harrington, the fourth of the siblings, also posted about Harrington’s death on Instagram.
“I’m gonna miss my brother,” Ryan Harrington wrote.
Harrington’s death was also confirmed by his fraternity, Beta Theta Pi. According to the chapter’s Instagram post, Harrington was a part of the fall 2024 pledge class.
“From the moment he joined our brotherhood, he brought a light that was impossible to ignore,” the Beta Theta Pi post read. “Ryder had a rare ability to truly enjoy life to make people laugh, to make moments feel bigger, and to make ordinary days unforgettable.”
Beta Theta Pi will be hosting a candlelight vigil to honor their brother on Monday at 8 p.m., the post said. The chapter also started a GoFundMe to support Harrington’s family.
State House Speaker Dustin Burrows posted about Harrington’s death on X and said the teen is the brother-in-law of one of his team members.
“From all accounts, Ryder was exactly the kind of young man who made a difference without even trying — full of life, loyal to his friends, proud to be a Red Raider and a Texan, and someone who showed up for the people around him,” Burrows wrote.
He added that he is praying for the Harrington family and “everyone who loved Ryder — the number appears to be countless.”
Two killed in early Sunday shooting
The shooting took place early Sunday outside Buford’s, a popular beer garden in downtown Austin.
Of the 14 injured, three were taken to the hospital in critical condition, Robert Luckritz, chief of the county’s emergency medical services, said Sunday.
On Monday, Davis, the police chief, said one of those three patients will be taken off of life support later in the day. The two others are still in critical condition, she added.
The shooter has been identified as 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne. Officers shot and killed him shortly after the attack, police said.
Diagne was a Senegalese national and a naturalized U.S. citizen living in Pflugerville, Texas, four law enforcement officials told NBC News. At the time of the shooting, he wore a sweatshirt that said “Property of Allah,” and a shirt underneath bearing an Iranian-flag theme.
Diagne appeared to have acted alone and had no ties to the state, according to sources who emphasized that the investigation is in its preliminary stages.
A Homeland Security official told NBC News that Diagne first entered the U.S. on March 13, 2000, on a B-2 tourist visa. He became a lawful permanent resident in 2006 based on marriage to a U.S. citizen and a naturalized citizen in 2013, the official said. He was arrested in 2022 in Texas for a collision with vehicle damage, the official said.
On Sunday, Doran said, “There were indicators that on the subject and in his vehicle that indicate potential nexus to terrorism,” but noted that it is “still too early to make a determination on that.”
Davis said at a news conference Sunday that Diagne may have circled Buford’s in his car before rolling his window down, striking patrons on the bar’s front patio using a pistol.
He then parked the car, got out holding a rifle, and shot people who were walking by, Davis said. Officers encountered the man along West Sixth Street, which is when they shot him.
Buford’s is 2 miles from the heart of the University of Texas at Austin campus and less than a mile from the Texas Capitol Building.
Other Texas officials offered their prayers and condolences for the victims, including Gov. Greg Abbott, who warned anyone who “thinks about using the current conflict in the Middle East to threaten Texans.”
He appeared to be talking about the joint military operations of the U.S. and Israeli governments against Iran, which killed the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
