Texas DA says no charges for police in terror attack response amid criticism of mandatory grand jury review

Austin police officers who stopped a mass shooter could face a grand jury review despite being hailed as heroes for saving lives in a deadly nightclub attack. Police and Law Enforcement Texas DA says no charges for police in terror attack response, amid criticism of mandatory grand jury review Following intense criticism and a public warning from Gov. Greg Abbott, Travis County DA José Garza has officially cleared the officers who stopped the deadly shooting By Louis Casiano Fox News Published March 3, 2026 7:20pm EST Facebook Twitter Threads Flipboard Comments Print Email Add Fox News on Google close Video FBI probing deadly Austin shooting as possible terror attack Former ATF special agent in charge Bernard Zapor assesses the danger of sleeper cell attacks within the United States amid strikes on Iran on ‘Fox News Live.’ NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! A Texas progressive district attorney said he will not seek charges against the Austin police officers who fatally shot a gunman who killed three people and injured 13 others in a suspected terror attack amid speculation that they could potentially face a grand jury. Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza released a statement after Gov. Greg Abbott said he would eventually have the final say should the officer be charged or convicted in court. "These officers are heroes, and it should go without saying that my office is not seeking any charges and would not seek charges," Garza said. "The accounts to the contrary are false, intentionally false, and are being peddled for obvious political purposes." Garza's office was the subject of criticism after it became known that the officers could potentially face a grand jury as part of a 2021 policy that all officer-involved shooting cases and serious use-of-force incidents be presented to a grand jury for review. The Austin Police Department and the FBI investigate a shooting at Buford's on West 6th Street in Austin, Texas, on March 1, 2026. (Stephanie Tacy/NurPhoto via Getty Images) Doug O’Connell, whose law firm O’Connell West has been tapped to represent the officers at the behest of the Austin Police Association, said the review is part of a policy instituted by Garza. Garza, O'Connell said, demanded the policy at the direction of the Wren Collective, a progressive criminal justice reform nonprofit that backs liberal DAs and is mainly composed of former public defenders seeking to overhaul the American justice system. "It's my belief that the Wren Collective has directed the district attorney to review officer-involved cases this way," O'Connell told Fox News Digital. "It seems they're very anti-law enforcement officers." Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza speaks at a news conference. (Jay Janner / The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images)The Austin police officers shot and killed Ndiaga Diagne, a 53-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen born in Senegal, early Sunday after he opened fire at a bar, Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden, killing Savitha Shan, 21, Jorge Pederson, 30; and 19-year-old Ryder Harrington. Fox News Digital has reached out to Garza's office. In a statement to Fox News Digital, Wren Collective founder Jessica Brand thanked the responding officers for their actions, which she credited for saving more lives. PAXTON DEMANDS STRICTER VETTING AFTER DEADLY TEXAS RAMPAGE BY SUSPECT WHO WAS NATURALIZED CITIZEN Ndiaga Diagne, 53, shot and killed two people and injured 14 others, police said. He was wearing a shirt featuring an Iran flag. (Obtained by Fox News)"Three people died in a mass shooting last week, more people were harmed, families are grieving, and the entire city is in mourning," she said. "The officers did heroic work and stopped what could have been an even bigger tragedy. As an Austin resident, I thank them, and also those people providing support for the many victims and their loved ones now." O'Connell said Garza ran on a campaign of targeting police officers in an anti-police climate. The DA instituted the review in 2021 amid calls for greater law enforcement accountability following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, which also sparked nationwide calls to defund police agencies. In addition to worrying about violence directed at them, officers now have to worry about potential legal action, O'Connell said. "Every time an officer is dispatched to a violent criminal call, they've got to be thinking: ‘I could be killed or depending on how this goes, I could be indicted,'" O'Connell said. In a post on X, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott praised the officers while noting that Garza's office isn't the end-all should the officers involved be charged or convicted in court. AUSTIN SHOOTING SUSPECT WORE IRANIAN FLAG SHIRT DURING ATTACK, SOURCES SAY Austin police work at the scene of a shooting on West 6th Street on Sunday where three people were shot and killed before the gunman was killed by responding authorities. (Jay Janner/The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images) "These police officers are heroes who saved lives. Whatever the DA does, I will have the final say in the fate of these police officers," he wrote on X. Fox N