Ryder Harrington a Texas Tech University student, identified as one of the two people killed in Austin bar shooting after Ndiaga Diagne opened gunfire outside of Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden leading to another 14 injured before being shot by responding officers. Attack is being probed as domestic terrorism.
A Texas Tech University student has been identified as one of 2 fatal victims at hands of Austin bar mass shooter, Ndiaga Diagne early Sunday morning at Buford’s Beer Garden bar.
Ryder Harrington, a Texas Tech Red Raider and member of his Beta Theta Pi fraternity’s Fall 2024 pledge class, was identified by loved ones in a GoFundMe created to support his family.
‘It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our brother, Ryder Harrington,’ the fundraiser reads. Organizers described him as ‘a beloved son, brother, and friend’ who ‘brought a light that was impossible to ignore.’ They wrote that ‘if anyone embodied what it meant to live fully and love deeply, it was Ryder.’
Austin Buford’s mass shooting at hands of lone gunman
Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, Dustin Burrows, shared support for the family via his X account. In the post, Burrows stated ‘From all accounts, Ryder was exactly the kind of young man who made a difference without even trying—full of life, loyal to his friends, proud to be a Red Raider and a Texan, and someone who showed up for the people around him.’
Harrington was killed when a Senegalese immigrant and naturalized U.S citizen, Ndiago Diagne, 53, opened fire just on 2 a.m, Sunday morning, from outside Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden along the busy West Sixth Street strip, killing two people and injuring at least 14 others.
Authorities say the suspect drove an SUV repeatedly around the block before switching on his hazard lights, rolling down his window and using a pistol to shoot patrons seated on the patio and standing outside the bar.
Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said the gunman then parked, exited the vehicle and continued firing at people walking nearby. The suspect was shot and killed in an exchange of gunfire with responding officers.
JUST IN: The suspect in the early Sunday morning mass shooting outside Buford’s Bar in downtown Austin, Texas, has been identified as 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Senegal residing in Pflugerville, Texas. The FBI is investigating the incident for a… pic.twitter.com/JzpDZR2PRv
— RedWave Press (@RedWavePress) March 1, 2026
Austin Buford Bar shooting probed as potential nexus to terrorism
While authorities have yet to say what led up to the mass shooting, suspicions are that the gunman may have been inspired by U.S strikes on Iran over the weekend.
Stated the FBI, ‘there were indications of a potential nexus to terrorism‘.
The lone gunman was found to have a Quran in his car, and was wearing a sweat shirt reading ‘Property of Allah’, and was possibly wearing an undershirt or t-shirt that had an Iranian flag or Iranian representations on it according to the Associated Press.
Ryder Harrington Texas Tech University student remembered
In the days since Harrington’s death, friends, classmates and fraternity brothers have shared tributes on social media, describing him as someone who brought joy, laughter and support to everyone around him.
A GoFundMe campaign titled “In Loving Memory of Ryder Harrington,” organized by friend Asher Chang, has been launched to help Harrington’s family with funeral expenses and other costs, drawing donations and messages of condolence from the Texas Tech and Austin communities.
Ryder’s fraternity has announced that they will be holding a candlelight vigil in honor of Harrington’s memory Monday, March 2. The vigil will be held at 1410 Orlando Avenue at 8 p.m.
