The FBI is investigating whether a shooting in Austin was a terrorist act.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday suggested there could be Iranian “sleeper cells” in the state. His comments came after a man opened fire over the weekend at an Austin bar, leaving three dead and more injured.
“We made clear to the public that the state of Texas is taking seriously the possibility of terrorist activity, lone wolf, lone wolf activity,” Abbott, a Republican, told Fox Business’s “Mornings with Maria” on Monday.
The FBI said that it is investigating whether the shooting in Austin was a terrorist act. Police shot and killed the gunman, whom they identified as Ndiaga Diagne, 53, originally from Senegal. Officials have not revealed the motivation behind the attack.
The suspect was wearing clothes with an Iranian flag and the words “Property of Allah,” a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.
Abbott said, “Exactly what happened here in Austin, Texas, and you oftentimes see when there’s a war breaking out like this, where the United States may be going against a country like Iran, that you could have either sleeper cells or lone wolves acting.”
“And that’s exactly why we increase the number of Texas Department of Public Safety Officers who should be patrolling the streets and patrolling sensitive areas and why we deployed the Texas National Guard to do the same thing, so that we could be as prepared as possible for things like this happening,” the governor said,
Over the weekend, the United States and Israel launched military strikes against Iran, killing its leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and dozens of other top officials. The two militaries also struck at Iran’s navy and air force as Iran launched rockets and drones at Israel and other Middle Eastern nations in response.
The FBI said that it has put its counter-terrorism teams on high alert for potential terrorist activity in the United States.
FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on X that law enforcement teams are “fully engaged on the situation overseas” and said that counterterrorism units and intelligence personnel would increase their preparedness. The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces across the United States, he added, are working “24/7, as always, to address and disrupt any potential threats to the homeland.”
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said her department is coordinating with other intelligence and law enforcement agencies, following the launch of the U.S. military campaign.
U.S. officials, including President Donald Trump, have signaled that the strikes on Iran would last several weeks, but Trump has said he is willing to “go far longer than that.”
