Texas DA won’t pursue criminal charges against officers who killed Austin gunman
A Texas prosecutor has fended off speculation that he will file charges against the police officers who fatally shot the gunman who killed three people and injured 14 others in Austin over the weekend.
Travis County Prosecutor Jose Garza said in a letter to Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis on Wednesday that his review of the three officers’ actions was closed.
“Upon review, it is clear and indisputable that at the time, the officers were responding to an active shooting in a mass casualty situation, and that the subject of the shooting was using unlawful deadly force,” Garza wrote in the letter, shared with NBC News. “For these reasons and based on the facts now available to us, we are closing our review and no action will be taken.”
Garza was responding to online speculation and criticism that he would indict the officers, including from Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.
“This is… INSANE,” Cruz, a Republican, wrote in an article on X on Tuesday.
Austin Police Association President Michael Bullock wrote in an article Tuesday that while there are currently no criminal charges against the officers, “the DA still appears to intend to take this to a grand jury where anything can happen since the DA controls this process and authorizes APD’s involvement.”
Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott also weighed in on the speculation, writing in an article on
Garza pushed back against online speculation in a separate statement Wednesday, calling the claims “false.”
“These officers are heroes, and it goes without saying that my office does not and will not file charges,” he said in a statement. “Claims to the contrary are false, intentionally false and peddled for obvious political purposes.”
The shooting took place outside Buford’s, a popular beer garden in downtown Austin. Authorities identified the shooter as Ndiaga Diagne, 53, a Senegalese national and naturalized U.S. citizen who lived in Pflugerville.
At the time of the shooting, he was wearing a sweatshirt that read “Property of Allah” and an Iranian flag-themed shirt underneath, according to four law enforcement officials.
Authorities are working to determine the possible motive for the attack, including whether it was an act of terrorism.
The attack came a day after the United States launched strikes against Iran.
Austin police will update the public on the case Thursday afternoon.
