Ryder Harrington was 19 years old when his life ended on a crowded stretch of West Sixth Street in Austin. Just after 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 1, gunfire shattered the early morning air outside Buford’s Bar near Rio Grande Street in the city’s Market District. By sunrise, two people were dead. One of them was Harrington, a Texas Tech University student home from Lubbock.
Police say the gunman, 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne, opened fire on patrons gathered outside the bar from inside his SUV. Witnesses described a scene of sudden chaos. People who had been laughing moments earlier dove for cover. Officers later said Diagne drove around the area several times before pulling the trigger. After firing a handgun from his vehicle window, he parked nearby and stepped out, this time using a rifle. The second victim has not yet been publicly identified.
Fourteen others were rushed to area hospitals. Three were listed in critical condition. Robert Luckritz, chief of county emergency medical services, said paramedics arrived within 57 seconds of the first shots. That quick response, city leaders later said, likely saved lives. Among the injured was Karan Bhakta, a 21-year-old senior at the University of Texas at Austin. A bullet grazed his scalp. He was treated for minor injuries at Ascension Seton Medical Center and released.
Austin police officers intercepted Diagne on East Sixth Street and shot him dead. Authorities said he was wearing a sweatshirt bearing the phrase “Property of Allah” and an undershirt with an Iranian flag motif. A Quran was recovered from his vehicle. The ATF and the FBI bomb squad searched the SUV but found no explosives.
The FBI has taken the lead in the investigation. Alex Doran, acting special agent in charge of the San Antonio field office, said the Joint Terrorism Task Force is examining possible ties to terrorism. He cautioned that it is too early to determine a clear motive, though there were indicators suggesting a potential connection. Federal and local authorities also searched a residence in Pflugerville, a suburb about 30 miles north of downtown Austin, where Diagne had a listed address.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Diagne entered the United States in March 2000 on a tourist visa. He became a lawful permanent resident in 2006 through marriage and was naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 2013. Records show he was arrested in Texas in 2022 on a charge involving a vehicle collision. Law enforcement sources said he had a history of mental illness.
Harrington’s father, Michael Harrington, confirmed his son’s death on Monday. A native of Austin, Ryder was studying at Texas Tech in Lubbock and had joined the Beta Theta Pi fraternity in the fall of 2024. His older brother, Reed Harrington, wrote online that the world was robbed of a bright future. Friends described Ryder as the kind of young man who made ordinary days feel bigger.
The fraternity announced a candlelight vigil for Monday evening and launched a fundraiser to support the Harrington family with funeral costs. By Monday, it had raised more than $48,000 toward a $50,000 goal. In messages shared publicly, fraternity brothers called him a light in their chapter.
Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows and former Texas Tech University System Chancellor Kent Hance also mourned Harrington. Austin Mayor Kirk Watson praised first responders for their swift action. The investigation remains ongoing as authorities work to determine what drove the violence that cut short a young life on a familiar Austin street.
