MN Man Among 3 Killed In Austin Mass Shooting

A mixed martial arts fighter from Minnesota was among three killed in a mass shooting early Sunday outside a crowded Texas bar that also left over a dozen wounded.

Police identified 30-year-old Jorge Pederson as one of the victims. Pederson was from rural Glenwood, according to his LinkedIn profile, which said he had studied business at North Dakota State University.

A light heavyweight fighter with an amateur record of four wins and two losses, he fought out of the Twin Cities, according to MMA fan website Tapology.

“He was the definition of a ‘consummate worker,’ showing up daily to bring light and joy into the grueling work of training,” The Academy MN, where Pederson trained, said in a Facebook post.

“In a sport that demands so much, Jorge had a rare gift: he made the hardest rounds feel lighter with his laughter and his constant presence.”

His mother, Nancy Pederson, told The Minnesota Star Tribune her son moved to Austin in February for a new job and died after being shot in the head.

“He loved Muay Thai [Thai boxing] and MMA,” she told the newspaper. “He was in Phuket, Thailand, for a month a year ago to train. He was a strong, healthy young man who loved being a part of that community.”

Police identified the other victims as 21-year-old Savitha Shan and 19-year-old Ryder Harrington.

The shooting began outside Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden along Sixth Street, a nightlife destination filled with bars and music clubs close to the University of Texas at Austin.

The gunman drove past the bar, which was packed with students, before circling back and firing the first shots from his SUV at people on the sidewalk and inside the bar, police said.

The suspect parked, got out with a rifle and began shooting at others before officers rushed to the intersection and shot him, the police chief said.

The FBI and police in Austin said it’s too soon to identify the motive behind the shooting, which the FBI has said is being investigated as a potential act of terrorism, coming after the U.S. and Israel launched an attack on Iran.

Police shot and killed the gunman, whom they identified as 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne. He was wearing clothes with an Iranian flag design and bearing the words “Property of Allah” during the attack, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.