According to the FBI, the fatal Texas bar shooting "potentially a terrorist act."

 

According to the FBI, the fatal Texas bar shooting "potentially a terrorist act."(Image: Getty Image)

The FBI believes that the shooting outside of a bar in Austin, Texas, which resulted in two fatalities and several injuries, may have been connected to terrorism. Around 2 a.m. (0800 GMT) on Sunday, reports of a "male shooter" led police to the scene near Buford's bar in the capital of the southern US state, according to the police. According to police, in addition to the two dead victims, the alleged gunman was also dead at the scene. Hospitalization was required for 14 people. Police have not identified the victims or the suspect and have not commented on a potential motive, nor offered details about the incident's possible terrorism connection.

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 According to Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis, officers were dispatched to Buford's on West Sixth Street, a well-known entertainment district in the city, in response to reports of a man armed. According to Davis, a man in a large SUV donned flashers, rolled down the window, and fired a pistol, hitting people on the patio and sidewalk outside the bar. She claims that he then returned to the bar after parking the car nearby and getting out with a rifle. Davis claims that the suspect was shot and killed by three approaching police officers at an intersection. Officials stated that after the SUV was searched, no explosives were found. However, Acting Special Agent in Charge Alex Doran, from the FBI's San Antonio office, said there were indications in the SUV and on the suspect that suggested a "nexus to terrorism".

 However, Doran stated that he was "not prepared to release those details" because the investigation was still in its infancy. "We are committed to seeing this process through to the very end," he said.

 Three of the 14 people who were taken to the hospital are in critical condition, according to Rob Luckritz, the head of Austin-Travis County Emergency Management Services. Davis stated that they were able to respond to the scene "rapidly" because there were more police and emergency personnel in the entertainment area over the weekend. The response by police and rescue workers, which officials claimed took 57 seconds, was praised by Austin Mayor Kirk Watson. "I'm very thankful for the speed," said Watson.  "They definitely saved lives."

Source: BBC