Newly released video reveals panic and chaos during Austin mass shooting as investigation into terror link continues

By Chris Boyette, Alaa Elassar, CNN

(CNN) — As Saturday night spilled into Sunday morning, the sidewalks and crowded patios of lively Sixth Street in Austin, Texas, were cloaked in terror and fear as the clinking of glasses and music gave way to frantic calls for help after a gunman opened fire.

Panicked 911 calls captured the chaos: “You need to go that way and get down!” a woman shouted to people, her voice cutting through screams. “There are people dead over here. There’ve been multiple people shot,” she tells the dispatcher. “We need help right now.”

Another person hiding called to describe the scene outside: “I heard like six gunshots from inside. Everybody ducked down on the bottom floor … we’re hiding in between cars.”

Surveillance video and police body camera footage released by Austin police Thursday revealed the scene in stark, harrowing detail. Crowds of people are seen scattering across the street, diving behind parked cars, and pressing against walls as the gunman moved through the intersection with an AR-15 rifle, firing indiscriminately.

Warning: this video contains disturbing images.

Officers arrived within 57 seconds and rushed toward the shooter, confronting him in a volley of gunfire that ended the attack with the suspect on the ground.

“As additional officers arrived, they were directed to the suspect’s location by brave people that were caught in this nightmare,” Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said during a news conference Thursday.

Warning: this video contains disturbing images.

The chief characterized the video as “difficult” to hear and see, and said the footage showing the suspect firing into the crowd is “too graphic to show” publicly.

“As you can see, this was a chaotic scene that was overwhelming for many, and it’s overwhelming to watch it,” Davis added.

Officials who were partnering with the police department were “in tears” listening to the recordings and watching the footage, according to the chief.

“This devastation doesn’t (just) affect the community,” she said.

Investigators continue search for motive

The release of materials comes as authorities continue to investigate whether the gunman, identified as 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne, was inspired by last weekend’s strikes on Iran by the US and Israel, when he opened fire first from his SUV and then on foot, killing three people and injuring more than a dozen others.

In an update, authorities now say 19 people were struck by gunfire, including the gunman, during the shooting. Two people remain in area hospitals, with one in critical condition, Davis said.

Ryder Harrington, 19, Savitha Shan, 21, and Jorge Pederson, 30, were killed in the attack.

Harrington and Shan were pronounced dead at the scene while Pederson succumbed to his injuries on Monday.

“These are two people that were dearly loved throughout this community, and that is quite clear, both young individuals with bright futures ahead of them,” the chief said.

Pederson was described by Davis as “a loving son and friend” who had just moved to Austin two weeks before the shooting.

“I don’t think any of us can imagine what these families are going through right now, the suffering that they are dealing with,” Davis said.

Diagne, a Senegalese immigrant who later became a US citizen, was fatally shot by police. He had not been on the radar of local law enforcement or the FBI before the attack and his only known interaction with authorities was a 2022 welfare check, which may have originated from New York, related to concerns about his mental health, according to Davis.

While the motive for the deadly attack has not been confirmed, investigators are examining the suspect’s clothing, which included a shirt with an Iranian flag design and a hoodie printed with “Property of Allah,” along with his criminal history and mental health records as they work to determine what drove the deadliest mass shooting in Austin in recent years.

Investigators are also actively examining whether the attack may have a terrorism link and are working in close coordination with the FBI, Davis said, though officials “are not ready to talk about exactly what that nexus is.” Authorities are reviewing digital evidence and have conducted two search warrants, she added.

“From that early on … calling in the FBI was the right thing to do, and you talk about a scene of that gravity and then the potential for terrorism, that had to be investigated and it is,” the chief said.

Law enforcement executed a search warrant for at least one home connected to Diagne in Pflugerville, Texas, a suburb just north of Austin. Investigators were likely looking for evidence such as writings, online activity, or propaganda that might shed light on whether the suspect planned the attack or was influenced by extremist material, an official previously told CNN.

CNN’s Caroll Alvarado, Taylor Galgano and Jeremy Grisham contributed to this report.

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