diff --git a/src/nvim/autocmd.c b/src/nvim/autocmd.c
index 66222f6a6a..a36d61420a 100644
--- a/src/nvim/autocmd.c
+++ b/src/nvim/autocmd.c
@@ -887,7 +887,6 @@ int do_autocmd_event(event_T event, char_u *pat, bool once, int nested, char_u *
   while (patlen) {
     // detect special <buffer[=X]> buffer-local patterns
     is_buflocal = aupat_is_buflocal(pat, patlen);
-    buflocal_nr = 0;
 
     if (is_buflocal) {
       buflocal_nr = aupat_get_buflocal_nr(pat, patlen);