Rising MMA star, 30, shot useless in bar in assault ‘motivated by the Iran battle’
Jorge Pederson, a rising MMA star, has been killed in a Texas shooting that is now being investigated as a potential act of terrorism in retaliation for US airstrikes in Iran
Jorge Pederson, 30, has died
A rising MMA star, 30, has been killed during a shooting in Austin, Texas, in an incident that is being investigated as a potential act of terrorism in retaliation for US airstrikes in Iran.
Jorge Pederson’s death was announced by Austin police department on Monday evening. They told NBC that Pederson had been on life support after the attack that occurred on Sunday at Buford’s bar.
The alleged gunman Ndiaga Diagne, a 53-year-old Senegalese national, was shot dead by police. Pederson had only moved to Texas two weeks before the shooting to pursue his dreams of becoming a professional MMA fighter.
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In a statement, his heartbroken family paid tribute to a “a very healthy, loving, funny young man” who was “passionate about Muay Thai and MMA and was going to go pro in May”.
While Andy Grahn told CBS News, “He had a super dry sense of humor, and he was always trying to make people laugh. A lot of these guys were crying and they wearing sunglasses when they came in.”
Greg Nelson, who owns Academy Martial Arts Gym where he trained, said: “Competing, learning from those competitions, taking on whatever person was in front of him. He didn’t pick and choose.”
While close friend Joshua Fleck – who worked at his moving company – added: “He would give that shirt off his back for people. That man could talk to anyone.
“Jorge accomplished in a short amount of time, what a lot of people don’t get to do. And he always chased his dreams and he never let anything stop it.”
Pederson is the third victim of the shooting with Ryder Harrington, 19, and Savitha Shan, 21, also killed. Both were students with Harrington studying at Texas Tech while Shan was at the University of Texas.
