Three dead, 14 injured in Texas bar shooting

By P.J. Huffstutter

CHICAGO, March 1 (Reuters) - The FBI said it was examining "indicators" that could suggest a possible terrorism link to a mass shooting early on Sunday in Austin, Texas, in which police said at least three people were killed and 14 injured.

The suspect was killed in an exchange of fire with police at the scene, police said. Fourteen people were hospitalized, with three of them in critical condition, police said.

Law enforcement officials have not released the name of the shooter or identified a specific motive, but FBI agent Alex Doran told reporters on Sunday "there were indicators on the subject, and in his vehicle, that indicate a potential nexus to terrorism."

The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force is working with the Austin Police Department on the investigation, which includes staff from the federal agency's evidence response and digital forensic teams, Doran said in a press conference on Sunday.

The mass shooting happened outside Buford's, a popular roadhouse-style bar in downtown Austin known for its close proximity to food trucks, according to local media reports.

The Austin Police Department did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Sunday.

But according to the Austin American-Statesman newspaper, Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said the shooter drove a large SUV around the block multiple times before stopping, turning on his hazard lights, rolling down the window and firing on patrons on Buford's patio and in front of the bar, according to the Austin American-Statesman newspaper.

The incident marked the 56th U.S. mass shooting this year and the one with the most victims so far, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as an incident in which at least four people, not including the shooter, are injured or killed by gunfire.

The U.S. had 407 mass shootings last year, according to archive data.