A gunman opened fire early Sunday outside a bar in a popular entertainment district in Austin, Texas, killing two people, a shooting the FBI said was being investigated as a potential act of terrorism.
Police said the shooting injured 14 people, three of them seriously, before police shot the gunman dead.
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Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said the suspect, whose name was not immediately released, drove by the bar multiple times before stopping and shooting out of the window of his SUV at people on the patio and in front of the bar.
Davis said the gunman then parked his car, got out with a rifle and began shooting at people walking in the area before running to police at the intersection and shooting him.
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The FBI is investigating whether the shooting was an act of terrorism because “signs” were found on the gunman and his vehicle, said Alex Doran, the acting agent in charge of the FBI’s San Antonio field office.
“It’s too early to make a decision,” Dolan said.
The shooting happened around 2 a.m. outside the Buford Backyard Beer Garden along Sixth Street, a nightlife hotspot of bars and music clubs just a few miles from the University of Texas.
EMS Chief Robert Luckritz said three people were found dead at the scene and 14 injured and had been sent to the hospital. The gunman was among the dead.
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson praised the quick response of police and rescue workers.
“They literally save lives,” Watson said.
Nine people were injured in another shooting early Sunday at a Cincinnati nightclub and concert venue, Ohio police said.
Adam Hennie, the city’s interim police chief, said all nine people suffered gunshot wounds, but none suffered life-threatening injuries.
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