Jorge Pederson, 30, was one of the victims killed in the mass shooting at Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden on West Sixth Street in Austin on Sunday, March 1, 2026. Pederson, originally from Minnesota, had moved to Austin about two weeks earlier to pursue a professional mixed martial arts career and had recently started a new job. He was critically wounded in the attack, taken to a local hospital on life support, and died after being removed from life support on Monday, March 2.

Two other people, 19-year-old Ryder Harrington and 21-year-old Savitha Shan, were also killed; more than a dozen others were wounded. The suspected shooter was identified as 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne, who was killed by police at the scene. Authorities were investigating motive, including exploring whether the attack was an act of terrorism, and reports said Diagne wore clothing with an Iranian flag design.

Pederson’s friends and family remembered him as kind, funny, and caring, and as a devoted athlete who was scheduled for his first professional MMA fight in May. If anyone knew Jorge, his training circle, or was in the West Sixth area that night, can you share what you remember?