On Sunday, an Indian-American student was killed in a mass shooting at Buford Restaurant on West Sixth Street in Austin, Texas. The Austin Police Department identified the Indian-American victim as 21-year-old Savitha Shan and the other victim as 19-year-old Ryder Harrington.
According to reports, the gunman involved in the fatal attack was eventually killed by police and the attack is being investigated as an act of terrorism. While the Austin Police Department identified only two victims, several reports said three people were killed and more than a dozen others were injured in the shooting.
The gunman, Ndiaga Diagne, 53, opened fire at a crowded bar in Austin on Sunday. According to the Associated Press, the suspect’s clothing had an image of the Iranian flag and the words “Property of Allah” on it.
The shooting and the now-dead gunman’s alleged ties to Iran have emerged amid renewed conflict between the United States and Iran following the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last weekend.
College professor mourns Indian Americans
Russ Finney, an assistant professor at the McCombs School of Business, reportedly expressed his condolences for the death of Savitha Shan in the Austin shooting. Finney called her “one of the superstar students” at the university and said she earned a double major with honors and will graduate this May.
“Involved in student organizations – a light in the classroom. It was heartbreaking to lose her,” Finney wrote in memory of Savitha.
In response to the Austin Police Department’s tweet about the mass shooting, the professor said students believed the area where the incident occurred was safe. “Other students remain in the hospital in very serious condition – this has been a very difficult week for our community, families, and the entire #ATX. Thank you for posting this,” he wrote.
What’s going on in Austin bars?
Austin’s busy nightlife was rocked by a fatal shooting in a public shooting at a crowded bar on Sunday. The gunman drove past Buford’s backyard beer garden, then turned back and fired his first shot from his SUV at people on the sidewalk and inside the bar, the Associated Press reported.
Several college students were present at the bar, which is located on Sixth Street near the University of Texas System’s flagship campus. Nathan Comeaux, a 22-year-old senior who spent an evening there with friends, said the bar was “packed with college kids, probably mostly University of Texas kids, shoulder to shoulder, hundreds of people just enjoying their night.”
They were ducking for cover when the suspect opened fire. While the suspect was killed and his identity is known, a motive behind the shooting has not yet been determined.
