The Eyrie

AUSTIN, TX — The FBI is investigating whether terrorism played a role in an early Sunday mass shooting outside a downtown Austin bar that killed two people and wounded 14 others. Police said the suspected gunman was also killed after officers exchanged gunfire with him near Buford’s Bar on Sixth Street.

Authorities said 911 calls began coming in just before 2 a.m. as people reported shots fired around the busy entertainment district. Investigators have not yet announced a final motive, but the FBI said there were indicators on the suspect and in his vehicle that suggested a possible connection to terrorism.

Officials identified the scene as an active attack and said the response from police and emergency crews came almost immediately after the first calls.

Police say the gunfire started as crowds were outside Buford's Bar

Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said callers told dispatchers that someone was shooting around Buford’s Bar on Sixth Street. She said a large SUV drove several times around the block before the gunman opened fire from inside the vehicle.

According to Davis, the suspect switched on his flashers, rolled down a window and fired a pistol at patrons on the patio and people standing in front of the bar. He then parked, got out of the vehicle and continued shooting at people on the sidewalk.

The bar sits in the 600 block of Rio Grande Street in downtown Austin, an area known for late-night crowds and heavy foot traffic. Police later warned the public to avoid the block while the investigation unfolded.

Officers nearby rushed toward the gunfire within seconds

Davis said Austin police had officers assigned to patrol the Sixth Street entertainment district that night. She said those officers were about 55 to 56 seconds away from the shooting scene when the calls came in and moved toward the gunfire right away.

The suspect was walking toward the officers when they confronted him, Davis said. Police then opened fire and killed him. In an earlier statement, police said three officers encountered a man armed with a gun near the bar and returned fire.

Mayor Kirk Watson said the fast police response, along with the work of EMS crews, helped save lives. He said there was no doubt in his mind that the rapid reaction made a difference.

Federal investigators see possible links to terrorism but say motive is still unclear

Alex Doran, the acting special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Antonio field office, said the shooting is still under investigation and that terrorism is being treated as a possible motive. He said investigators found indicators on the suspect and in his vehicle that point to a potential nexus to terrorism.

Doran emphasized that it was too early to reach a final conclusion. The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force is joining the case, according to sources familiar with the investigation.

Authorities did not immediately release the suspect’s name. People familiar with the investigation told ABC News that he was a 53-year-old man from Pflugerville, Texas, born in Senegal and a naturalized U.S. citizen.

Emergency crews moved quickly as the scene became a mass casualty response

Chief Robert Luckritz of Austin-Travis County EMS said paramedics and officers arrived at the scene less than a minute after the first 911 call. He said three people, including the suspect, were pronounced dead where the shooting happened.

Luckritz said another 14 people were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment. The exact condition of those injured was not immediately released, but the number of hospital transfers showed the scale of the emergency response.

The Austin Fire Department described the incident as an active attack and urged people to stay away from the area while officials secured the scene and gathered information.

Downtown Austin nightlife area has long drawn large weekend crowds

The shooting unfolded in one of Austin’s busiest nightlife zones, where bars and clubs along Sixth Street draw large late-night crowds. That setting made the police presence especially important, officials said, because units were already staged in the entertainment district when the attack began.

Photos and videos from the scene showed a heavy emergency response as police, firefighters and paramedics moved into the area. Officials said the speed of the response was critical in limiting further harm.

For now, investigators are still piecing together the suspect’s movements, his background and whether the clues found by federal agents amount to a terrorism-related motive. Police have not said what prompted the shooting, beyond confirming that the inquiry remains active.