Pro-Iran Fanatic Behind Austin Bar Massacre Was Abusive Husband
The gunman who unleashed a hail of bullets at a crowded Austin bar over the weekend was a Senegalese immigrant with a documented history of terrorizing his own family, according to exclusive court filings obtained by the Daily Mail. Ndiaga Diagne, 53, a naturalized American citizen, murdered two people and wounded fourteen others at Buford's Backyard Beer Garden before police fatally shot him during the early Sunday morning slaughter.
Domestic Violence History Revealed in Divorce Papers
Investigators probing the attack believe Diagne launched the assault as retaliation for recent United States and Israeli airstrikes targeting Iran. However, newly uncovered legal documents paint a disturbing portrait of a violent domestic abuser long before the public terror attack. Diagne's ex-wife, realtor Aissatou Savare, 45, explicitly blamed his aggressive outbursts for the collapse of their seven-year marriage.
In a March 2022 divorce petition, Savare stated, 'Respondent is guilty of cruel treatment toward petitioner of a nature that renders further living together insupportable.' The filing prompted a furious, handwritten response from Diagne, who was representing himself in the proceedings. He sent an unhinged note to Bexar County Judge Cathleen Stryker, vehemently disputing the allegations.
'I totally disagree and quite frankly feel insulted by the many false statements in the filing,' Diagne retorted. He claimed his only reason for participating in the legal process was to help Savare obtain legal residency and later citizenship, adding, 'I only object to her lying reason for divorce otherwise I have no problem whatsoever having her out of my life.'
Court Ruled on Pattern of Family Violence
The desperate plea failed to sway the court. Judge Stryker determined that Savare faced a genuine risk of harassment and was not required to disclose her location or contact information to her ex-husband. The judge's ruling was unequivocal: 'The court finds that Ndiage Diagne has a history or pattern of committing family violence during the two year period preceding the filing.'
A final divorce decree issued in September 2022 granted Diagne access to his two children, aged 10 and 13, but only under strict, court-ordered supervision. On the afternoon of the shooting, Savare was questioned by law enforcement for ninety minutes outside her home near Cibolo, Texas. She later refused to speak with reporters when dropped off at her San Antonio residence.
Extremist Ideology and Iranian Sympathies
Federal agents searching a house in Pflugerville, an Austin suburb thirty miles north of the crime scene where Diagne was believed to reside, discovered an Iranian flag and photographs of Iranian leaders. This physical evidence corroborated the gunman's prolific online persona, where he made little secret of his fanatical support for Iran and its hardline Islamic regime.
In social media posts uncovered by the Daily Mail, Diagne glorified the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and issued violent threats. 'If Israel tries to do to Iran what it is doing to Gaza and Lebanon it will mean the end of Israel,' he boasted in October 2024. In another post, he declared, 'The Islamic revolution is eternal and here to stay until the end of time.'
His vitriol extended to American and Israeli political figures. He labeled former President Donald Trump a 'shameless clown' and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as 'EVIL'. In a disturbing reply to Ivanka Trump, he fumed about Gaza, stating, 'They think they can turn Gaza into a real estate development. They are mistaken.'
Details of the Fatal Attack
Diagne arrived in the United States on a tourist visa in March 2000, gained lawful permanent residency in 2006, and became a naturalized citizen in 2013, despite a prior arrest history. The horrific attack unfolded just before 2 a.m. on Sunday at the beer garden on West Sixth Street in Austin's Entertainment District.
Witnesses described a crazed gunman wearing a 'Property of Allah' hoodie over a t-shirt featuring an Iranian flag, standing outside the venue and firing a handgun and a rifle into the crowd. Police responded within a minute and engaged the attacker, ultimately killing him. In total, seventeen people were shot. Three individuals, including Diagne, died at the scene, while fourteen victims were transported to hospitals, with at least three in critical condition.
The two innocent victims murdered in the attack were identified as Ryder Harrington, a 19-year-old Texas Tech University student, and Savitha Shan, aged 24. The shooting occurred mere hours after the United States initiated a bombing campaign against Iran targeting its leadership, a move officials had warned could provoke retaliatory terror attacks on American soil.
Neither Aissatou Savare nor her legal representative responded to repeated requests for comment following the tragedy. The investigation continues to piece together the full timeline of Diagne's radicalization and the precise motives behind the deadly assault.
