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WACO, TX – In the aftermath of a shooting rampage in Texas by a gunman who was a naturalized citizen from Africa, state Attorney General Ken Paxton says that authorities "have to do a better job vetting people when they come here."
Paxton, who's challenging longtime Sen. John Cornyn for the Republican Senate nomination in Tuesday's primary, was commenting about this weekend's shooting in Austin, Texas, that left three people, including the gunman, dead, and more than a dozen injured.
The suspect, identified as Ndiaga Diagne, was a 53-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Senegal and lived in Pflugerville, Texas, multiple federal law enforcement sources told Fox News.
Diagne was wearing a sweatshirt that read "Property of Allah" and an undershirt featuring an Iranian flag when he carried out the attack, according to law enforcement sources. And authorities also said they found an Iranian flag and photos of regime leaders in Diagne's apartment.
A man identified by federal law enforcement sources as the gunman in the Austin shooting that left three people dead and 14 wounded is seen carrying a rifle and wearing a hoodie referencing "Allah" before he was shot and killed by police. (Obtained by Fox News)
"There's no system that's perfect. If we have immigration, there's going to be no system that’s perfect. We do need to do a better job of vetting people, and Congress is going to have to figure out how to do that," Paxton emphasized.
With the shooting taking place during heated campaign trail showdowns in Texas just a couple of days ahead of the primary, reactions quickly turned political, with Republicans criticizing former President Joe Biden's handling of the country’s naturalization process and Democrats calling for stricter gun reform laws.
Asked about the shooting, Cornyn said in a Fox News Digital interview in San Antonio on Sunday, "What it does emphasize to me is the importance of vetting people before they come across the border."
"Part of the problem is that the Biden administration, for four years, had open border policies and let who knows what into the country," Cornyn charged. "This isn't about people continuing to come into the country, because we know President Trump has secured the border. This is about what happens with people already here."
AUSTIN SHOOTING SUSPECT WORE IRANIAN FLAG SHIRT DURING ATTACK, SOURCES SAY
He said the shooting was an example of "what happens when people become radicalized."
Austin-Travis County EMS said three victims were killed and three others remain in critical condition following the bar shooting. (Ricardo B. Brazziell/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
The Department of Homeland Security said that Diagne entered the United States on a tourist visa in 2000, and in 2006 became a lawful permanent resident after marrying a U.S. citizen in 2006. He was naturalized seven years later.
"I think that the burden on the system has been all the illegal immigration, which makes it harder for law enforcement to keep track of everyone," Paxton said. "We've got so many people here that are from other countries. It's very difficult for law enforcement, with the resources that we have to keep track of everybody."
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The third major candidate in the GOP Senate primary, Rep. Wesley Hunt, took to social media after the shooting to emphasize that "Radical Islam has NO place in Texas."
Hunt, a West Point graduate and veteran who flew Apache helicopters during his military service, added that he "engaged it in combat."
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Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast."
