Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, joins ‘Mornings with Maria’ to address the deadly shooting in Austin, warn of potential sleeper cells and sound the alarm about border-related security threats.
Governor of Texas Greg Abbott warned that Iranian “sleeper cells” operating in the United States pose a serious threat after Operation Epic Fury, saying the danger must be taken “seriously” as the Lone Star State steps up security efforts.
“When a war like this breaks out, pitting the United States against a country like Iran, you often see that you can have a sleeper hit. [cells] or lone wolves acting,” Abbott told “Mornings with Maria” on Monday.
“That is exactly why we have increased the number of Texas Department of Public Safety officers patrolling the streets and sensitive areas, and why I have deployed the Texas National Guard to do the same,” he said.
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Texas Governor Greg Abbott speaks during a press conference with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins at the Texas Capitol in Austin on August 15, 2025. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Heightened tensions followed a deadly shooting in Austin early Sunday, when suspect Ndiaga Diagne, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Senegal, opened fire near a downtown bar, killing two people and wounding 14 others.
Diagne wore a sweater that read “PROPERTY OF ALLAH” during the attack.
According to media reports, law enforcement officials found the flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran and photos of its leaders in his home.
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A protester holding a portrait of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reacts outside City Hall during a protest against US and Israeli attacks on multiple cities in Iran on February 28, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Qian Weizhong/VCG/Getty Images/Getty Images)
“There will be other details emerging about the shooter and his connections to terrorism that will clarify [that] This was a lone wolf activity where this gunman intended to wreak havoc here in Texas and here in the United States because of his ties and sympathies to Iran,” Abbott said.
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President Donald Trump addresses the American people after the US and Israeli attacks on Iran.
“It raises questions for a lot of these types of people who are here in the United States and come from other countries,” he said.
“The United States must do a much better job in its efforts to investigate and continually evaluate those who have come to our country and who may pose a threat.”
