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10 months ago
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The gunman who shot dead a hero Texas SWAT officer during a hostage situation was on the terror watchlist, DailyMail.com can reveal.
The shooter, who has not been officially named, was previously flagged to the FBI before he killed elite Austin cop Jorge Pastore on Saturday.
Sources confirmed three others who died were Eman Ahmed El Nemr-Nassar, a mother, Ahmed Mohamed Nassar, 35, her son and Riad Mohamed Nassar, 32, her other son.
It is understood one of the brothers was the gunman who shot dead his mother and brother, but it is not clear which one.
It comes as insiders also revealed Pastore had previously been a paramedic in Florida and had responded to the Parkland school shooting in 2018.
They revealed that his experiences during the massacre were what led to him joining SWAT and quickly rising the ranks.
Senior Patrol Officer Jorge Pastore was killed Saturday in Austin, Texas while responding to a deadly hostage situation. Pastore is survived by his wife and two step kids
The FBI confirms it is 'offering support' the Austin Police Department with the investigation into Pastore's death and the hostage situation that lead to the SWAT team responding to a home in South Austin
Cops responded to the killer's rampage at 2.49am on Saturday when a frantic woman 'screaming for help' called 911 to say she had been stabbed.
The first police officers to arrive at the home were shot at, prompting SWAT members to respond.
As Pastore and other SWAT members made entry, they were also met with heavy gunfire.
Pastore, 38, was killed and a second officer was wounded. Police fired back, killing the gunman. The bodies of two other victims and the suspect were found inside.
Those killed in the house were set to be buried at 1pm on Tuesday in accordance with Islamic funerals.
'We encourage all to take time out of their busy schedule, attend the funeral, and pray for the deceased,' Kareem Abdi, a local Muslim leaders, said online.
'May Allah forgive their shortcomings and place them in Jannat-ul-Firdous.' (translates to paradise or garden.)
Residents of the neighborhood where the shooting happened told CBS Austin FBI agents have been speaking to neighbors about the family involved in the hostage situation
Members of the Islamic community in Austin identified the family involved in the hostage situation where an Austin police officer was killed
The FBI joined the investigation into the shooting of an Austin police officer after the suspect's name was possibly linked to terror, sources tell the DailyMail.com
In Muslim tradition, bodies must be buried very quickly, no later than three days after the death, a member of the Islamic Center of Greater Austin told the DailyMail.com.
That means that people who attend a funeral may not even know the person who's being laid to rest.
The organization would not answer more questions about the family, asking for privacy.
'Three of the family members of the beloved brother Mohamed Nassar, passed away,' the Austin mosque shared online.
Mohamed, the father, is the owner of the home where Pastore was killed, according to property records.
He moved away less than a year ago, according to CBS Austin. It's unknown what part of the shooter's background the FBI is interested in.
The FBI's San Antonio office, which serves Austin, confirmed it is 'offering support' the Austin Police Department but declined to comment any further.
Pictured Officer Jorge Pastore and his wife Kim Balint Pastore. He is also survived by two step-children
An aerial view of the home where the hostage situation took place Saturday morning
FBI agents arrive at the home in South Austin where the officer were killed
To get on the terror watch list, a law enforcement or intelligence agency must identify a person as a potential terrorist threat to the US, according to the DOJ.
That would land a person on the FBI's terror watchlist, officially called the Terrorist Screening Center or TSC.
Authorities are supposed to gather more information to establish whether the person flagged has real ties to terror or should be weeded out.
'TSC had not ensured that the information in the consolidated terrorist watchlist database was complete and accurate,' the DOJ stated in a 2007 report.
Meanwhile, details for Pastore's funeral on Friday have also been released.
The SWAT officer, who was previously a paramedic in Florida, decided to become a cop after responding to the Parkland school shooting in 2018 where 17 kids were slaughtered and 17 others were wounded.
A candlelight vigil was held at City Hall in downtown Austin to honor Officer Jorge Pastore, who was killed in an officer-involved shooting on November 11
The Tanglewood Oaks neighborhood where the shooting happened has been a crime scene since Saturday morning
Austin Police Department officers prepare to ride in a procession leaving Dell Seton Medical Center in Downtown Austin following the shooting death of a police officer early on Saturday
Members of the Austin Fire Department bow their heads as they prepare to drive in a procession for the fallen officer
'He was a paramedic in Florida, and he was one of the first to arrive after the Parkland school shooting happened,' Michael Bullock, the president-elect of the Austin Police Association told the DailyMail.com.
'After that happened, he made the decision that he wanted to be part of something that worked to prevent that stuff from happening and not having to come in after it's all happened.'
The department is planning to honor the elite cop with a procession through the streets of Austin starting at 7am on Friday.
'He embodied the very best of this profession and of this department-- that your job and your role is to be able to fight for other people no matter what the danger may be,' Bullock added.
'To show up to that scene, to know that other officers had already been shot at and that someone is actively seeking to harm and kill other people...with no hesitation, to go through and try to face that evil. That's the most honorable way that anyone in this profession can probably go.'
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