Austin gunman showed a ‘pattern of committing family violence', Texas judge found
A Texas District Court Judge found that the gunman who carried out the deadly attack on Austin’s 6th Street bar district Sunday had a “history or pattern of committing family violence,” according to a decree the judge issued in a 2022 divorce case.
The judge made that ruling in September 2022 after court records showed Ndigae Diagne’s wife filed for divorce. She alleged in a petition that her husband was “guilty of cruel treatment toward Petitioner of a nature that renders living together insupportable.”
NBC 5 Investigates obtained the documents through a request to the Bexar County court. They include Diagne’s handwritten response to his wife’s allegations. In the note he writes, “I totally disagree and quite frankly feel insulted by the many false statements in the filing.” Diagne signed the note using the address of the home in Pflugerville, where the FBI conducted a search following the shooting on Sunday.
The divorce records showed Diagne did not hire an attorney and the judge ultimately issued a default judgment after he did not appear in court to represent himself in the ongoing proceedings.
The judge’s final decree required that Diagne’s visits with the couple’s two young children be supervised by a local social services agency that specializes in child protection or another entity or person chosen by their mother.
In the Austin shooting, investigators have stressed they are exploring multiple possible motives and have not determined what led the gunman to open fire on bar patrons along 6th Street at about 2 a.m. Sunday.
Four sources briefed on the Austin shooting investigation have told NBC News that investigators are looking at whether mental health issues played a role in the shooting, but the sources cautioned that it is early in the investigation and information may change.
The FBI has also said it is looking at possible links to terrorism, citing the evidence found on the shooter’s body and items found in his vehicle.
A photo of the gunman at the scene, verified by three sources briefed on the investigation, showed Diagne wearing a hoodie that read, “Property of Allah.” Investigators also said the man wore an Iran T-shirt underneath. The FBI has not commented specifically on the messaging on the hoodie or shirt and has said it is too early to say if the shooting was an act of terrorism.
In the 2022 divorce records, the shooter made one brief reference to his religion, writing that his wife, “knows full well in our culture and religion we do not need a marriage certificate to be husband and wife.”
The handwritten note does not detail the shooter’s religious or cultural beliefs. Sources briefed on the investigation have said the shooter was a naturalized U.S. citizen from Senegal.
Law enforcement analysts have told NBC 5 Investigates that it will be critical for investigators to consider all possible motives as the investigation proceeds and not to read too much into something like a sweatshirt.
Investigators are also looking into whether mental health played a role in the attack.
Investigators described the crime scene on Monday as extremely complex and called for patience, saying that with more than 150 witnesses to interview and thousands of hours of video to review, it may take some time before they understand the shooter’s motive.
“Probably the biggest thing for not only investigators, but also leadership of the local state and federal agencies to do is not to jump to a conclusion, not to draw a conclusion by single items that you see,” said retired FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Eric Jackson, in an interview with NBC 5 Investigates.
Austin 6th Street shooting
