A chilling new piece of evidence has surfaced in the Austin mass shooting investigation: doorbell camera footage showing the suspect, 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne, leaving an apartment in Del Valle, Texas, just one day before the deadly attack. The timestamp on the video places Diagne at the location on February 28th, a stark prelude to the violence that would unfold.
The footage doesn’t end there. The same neighbor who captured Diagne’s departure also recorded FBI agents meticulously covering their camera moments before a raid on Diagne’s apartment on March 2nd. This occurred as part of executing a search warrant related to the suspect and his connections.
Residents of the Eastridge Apartments experienced a dramatic scene the day before the raid, around 11:30 a.m. Federal agents swarmed the complex, using a loudspeaker to instruct anyone inside unit 813 to move away from the windows. The tension quickly escalated.
A series of startling sounds followed the agents’ warning. Neighbors reported hearing what sounded like gunshots, followed by an explosion resembling a grenade detonating within the apartment. The scene was chaotic, filled with law enforcement vehicles and agents with weapons drawn.
One anonymous resident described the intensity, stating, “Then we heard like, gunshots, and then we heard a grenade, like a grenade bomb go off in the apartment. It was just a lot of cars and the FBI with their guns drawn.” Another resident, Alex Sky, recounted finding armed agents outside their own apartment upon returning home.
Sky vividly remembers the scene: “I looked through the window from the restroom, and I just saw them right in the house, and they had a car in the grass right there. They had K-9s waiting too, they had rifles outside the gate.” Agents remained inside the apartment for hours, marking the second location linked to Diagne that authorities had searched.
The investigation extended to a second home in Pflugerville, where ATF agents were seen carrying boxes believed to contain crucial evidence. It remains unknown if anyone was present inside the apartment during the execution of the search warrant, adding another layer of mystery to the unfolding investigation.
The events follow a horrific mass shooting at Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden in Austin, which occurred just after 2 a.m. on Sunday. Four people lost their lives, including the gunman, Ndiaga Diagne.
The victims have been identified as Savitha Shan, 21, Jorge Pederson, 30, and Ryder Harrington, 19. According to Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis, Diagne drove through the area, firing a pistol from his car window at patrons of the bar.
Continuing his attack, Diagne parked his vehicle on Sixth Street and Wood Street, exited with a rifle, and continued shooting at pedestrians. He was ultimately shot and killed by police at the scene, bringing a terrifying rampage to an end.
The FBI is now investigating the shooting as a potential act of terrorism. Alex Doran, acting special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Antonio Field Office, stated that “there were indicators on the subject and in his vehicle that indicate potential nexus to terrorism.”
Doran cautioned that it’s still too early to draw definitive conclusions, emphasizing the need for a thorough investigation in collaboration with the Austin Police Department. The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force has been deployed to assist in the investigation.
Authorities report that at least two additional victims remain in critical condition, a somber reminder of the devastating impact of this senseless act of violence. The investigation continues, seeking to understand the motives behind the attack and prevent future tragedies.
