Ndiaga Diagne, the man accused of killing three people and injuring 15 others in a downtown Austin shooting spree, was a former Tesla employee who worked at Gigafactory Texas, where he allegedly assaulted a fellow employee late last year. A lawsuit filed by the victim accuses the automaker of failing to provide a safe work environment and know the backgrounds of its employees.
Lillian Mendoza Brady also accuses Tesla Inc. of withholding Diagne’s name since the alleged assault Dec. 4.
The Buda resident, who filed suit Thursday in state district court in Travis County, only learned his identity after the mass shooting early Sunday, when pictures of Diagne began circulating in news media. Since he was identified, information suggesting Diagne possessed a violent temperament has also surfaced.
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“If Tesla had information about Diagne’s violent behavior before he attacked Lillian Brady and failed to act, then not only might her assault have been prevented, it may have been an early warning sign of a far greater danger,” said Bob Hilliard, Brady’s attorney. “This lawsuit seeks to determine what Tesla knew and why this early incident wasn’t taken seriously.”
Ndiaga Diagne was identified by Austin police as the suspect in a downtown Austin mass shooting that occurred early Sunday. (Courtesy Austin Police Department)
The assault allegedly happened while Diagne was on a company-allowed prayer break, Brady says, when he assaulted her without provocation. The suit accuses Tesla of failing to monitor its factory’s common areas or supervise sanctioned activities in those spaces, “creating an unreasonably dangerous condition.”
After the alleged assault, Hilliard said, Brady repeatedly asked Tesla for her assailant’s name so she could press charges, but the company refused. She’d never seen Diagne before that day, another of Brady’s attorneys said. She and Diagne were among about 22,000 employees who worked last year at Gigafactory Texas.
“Violence rarely appears out of nowhere,” Hilliard said. “Our lawsuit will examine what warning signs were present, why they were ignored, and why Tesla failed to protect its 65-year-old employee.”
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The company did not respond to multiple requests for comment, so Diagne’s history as a Tesla employee is unknown. He was shot and killed by Austin police after he opened fire on a bar-lined section of West Sixth Street, a rampage now being investigated by the FBI as a possible act of terrorism.
In her suit, Brady says Tesla should have had knowledge of his “volatile temperament and propensity for aggression.”
Tesla has been sued by a former employee at Gigafactory Texas, seen here in April, as the result of an alleged assault at the factory and company headquarters east of Austin. The suit says the company failed to adequately protect its employees. (Jay Janner /Austin American-Statesman)
In 2022, a state civil court judge in Bexar County found Diagne had a “history or pattern of committing family violence” and granted his ex-wife sole custody of their two young sons. He was granted supervised visitation, court records show. That same year, Diagne was arrested in Texas in connection to a vehicle collision.
Brady accuses Tesla of failing to warn staff about “dangerous personnel” and failing to enforce safety rules and regulations for its employees at Gigafactory Texas.
Brady is seeking monetary relief of over $1 million and damages for physical pain and mental anguish, lost wages, physical impairment and medical expenses.
She also demands that Tesla keep all evidence related to the alleged assault, including correspondence, photographs and recordings.
