Texas mall shooting – latest: Frenzied police audio reveals terror during outlet massacre
Mauricio Garcia brought a stash of eight legally-purchased weapons to Allen Premium Outlets on Saturday where he opened fire, the tragedy has left the mall closed indefinitely
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As a gunman opened fire on people shopping at the Allen Premium Outlets in Texas, police scrambled to locate the suspect and subdue him.
Recently released audio from police revealed that the gunman, Mauricio Garcia, was still shooting when authorities arrived at the scene on Saturday (6 May).
Eight people, including three young children, died and seven others were injured after Garcia, 33, brought a stash of eight legally-purchased weapons to the mall to conduct the shooting.
The gunman had left signs he was planning an attack at the outlets on his digital footprint, specifically from his profile on a Russian website, which police confirmed on Tuesday belonged to him.
One of the posts, reviewed by The Independent, was a video, posted the day of the shooting, showing Garcia removing a Scream Ghostface mask saying, “Not quite what you were expecting, huh?”
The video appeared to be his final message among a trove of Nazi-related images and hate-filled rants against women and racial minorities posted in the run-up to the massacre.
Nazi images, hateful rants and ‘Right Wing Death Squad’: A look at Texas gunman’s alleged far-right social media posts
Two days, three attacks, 18 dead: Texas reels from horrifying weekend of violence
Mauricio Garcia: Everything we know about the Texas mall gunman who killed eight
Texas mall shooting victim Christian LaCour hailed as a hero for helping person to safety before he was killed
Mass shooter allegedly had tattoo of swastika
The gunman who killed eight people allegedly had a tattoo of a swastika, according to an image posted on the gunman’s supposed ok.ru profile.
Authorities investigating the mass shooting in Allen, Texas, said the gunman, Mauricio Garcia, may have had ties to far-right-wing groups, white supremacy and neo-Nazism.
A profile that seems to match Garica from the Russian website, ok.ru, had posted photos showing SS and swastika tattoos, praise for Adolf Hitler, misogynistic screeds that echo incel (or involuntary celibate) ideas and forums, and complaints about the state of his mental health.
Texas mall gunman was terminated from US Army training due to mental health concerns
The Texas man who killed eight people while carrying out a mass shooting at Allen Premium Outlets on Saturday (6 May) was terminated from the US Army training in 2008 due to a physical or mental health concern according to the US Army.
The shooter, identified as 33-year-old Mauricio Garcia, entered the regular army in 2008 but was terminated three months later according to a statement provided to The Independent by Heather J Hagan, US Army Public Affairs Spokeswoman.
“Mauricio Garcia entered the regular Army in June 2008; he was terminated three months later without completing initial entry training. He was not awarded a military occupational specialty. He had no deployments or awards,” Ms Hagan said.
She added that the Army does not provide characterisation of the discharge of any soldier.
However, an Army Official noted that Garcia was “separated” under the 2005 edition of Army Regulation 635-200 paragraph 5-17, “other designated physical or mental conditions”.
Elon Musk appears to entertain conspiracy theory that Texas shooting was a ‘psyop’
Elon Musk appears to be entertaining the idea that the mass shooting by a far-right extremist at an outlet mall in Allen, Texas, on Saturday was a “psyop” or psychological operation.
Mr Musk, the owner and CEO of Twitter, reacted to a series of tweets on Monday suggesting that initial reporting on the suspect’s apparent right-wing motives was “suspect” and that the shooting was “a psyop”.
“This gets weirder by the moment,” he wrote in response.
Mr Musk later doubled down on his comments, calling it “either the weirdest story ever or a very bad psyop!”
America’s red state gun violence epidemic
Gun violence isn’t just in big cities like Los Angeles or Chicago.
As The Independent reported last year, red states and rural areas struggle just as much with shootings. In some ways, the violence there is actually worse.
Get all the details in our full story.
GOP says gun violence mostly happens in Democratic cities – the figures disagree
Conservatives like to paint Democratic states as crime-ridden warzones, but gun violence is worse in red states, Josh Marcus writes
Two days, three attacks, 18 dead: Texas reels from weekend of horror
An active shooter attacked an outlet mall near Dallas on Saturday afternoon, killing eight before being shot dead himself by an Allen cop. The following morning, 570 miles south, a car plowed into a group of migrants waiting at a bus stop, killing eight more. Then, eight hours later, a dispute on a Dallas Dart train led to another deadly shooting.
Sheila Flynn reports:
Two days, three attacks, 18 dead: Texas reels from horrifying weekend of violence
An active shooter attacked an outlet mall near Dallas on Saturday afternoon, killing eight before being shot dead himself by an Allen cop. The following morning, 570 miles south, a car plowed into a group of migrants waiting at a bus stop, killing eight more. Then, eight hours later, a dispute on a Dallas Dart train led to another deadly shooting. Sheila Flynn reports on Texas’ weekend of carnage
Father killed in shooting ‘loved being a dad'
Kyu Cho, one of the victims of the Texas mass shooting was the father to two children, William, 6, and James, 3, as well as the husband to Cindy Cho.
Mr Cho, his wife Cindy Cho and their son James were all shot dead after a gunman opened fire at the Allen Premium Outlets on Saturday (6 May).
The only survivor of the Cho family is six-year-old William who no longer has parents or a younger brother.
Brian Aniki, Mr Cho’s friend, mentor and taekwondo teacher from his college days told NBC News that Mr Cho “loved being a dad”.
Mr Cho’s other friends from college attested to his bright personality, caring nature and love for family.
Grace Ghang a friend of Mr Cho’s who went to law school with him at Ave Maria School of Law said they last spoke in 2021 when they tried to arrange for a playdate for their children.
“We concluded our messaging by saying we would love to get together sometime since both of us now live in Texas, and I really was planning on trying to make a trip sometime to Dallas to try and catch up with him,” Ms Ghang told NBC News. “But now that opportunity is lost.”
Fake fundraisers circulate online
Several fake fundraisers have arisen online claiming to raise money for the victims and survivors of the Allen mass shooting.
“We are aware of multiple fake online fundraisers that are currently underway for the victims,” said Chad Yarbrough, special agent-in-charge for FBI Dallas said in a press conference on Tuesday.
Verified fundraisers can be found on the Allen Texas GoFundMe page.
Over $20,000 raised for victim of shooting
A GoFundMe benefitting the family of 20-year-old Christian LaCour has raised over $20,000 as of Wednesday (10 May).
Mr LaCour was one of eight people to be shot dead by a gunman who opened fire on shoppers and employees at the Allen Premium Outlets on Saturday (6 May).
“Christian was a sweet and kind young man whose family mourns his loss. This GoFundMe is being created to help the family,” The GoFundMe description reads.
Mr LaCour was shot dead after evacuating a shopper to safety.
Allen Premium Outlets remains closed until further notice
The Allen Premium Outlets indicated to shoppers that they will remain ‘closed until further notice’ following a horrific shooting that left eight people dead and seven injured.
On the mall’s website they wrote they are “horrified by the senseless tragedy” and “outraged by the violence that continues to plague our country.”
They thanked law enforcement and first responder’s actions and efforts to save members of the community.
“Allen Premium Outlets remains closed until further notice,” they wrote.
Texas mall gunman Mauricio Garcia’s white supremacist social media footprint
A social media profile that appears to belong to a gunman who killed eight people in a busy Dallas-area shopping mall on 6 May includes dozens of Nazi-related images and hate-filled rants against women and racial minorities.
The profile on the Russian-based platform ok.ru also includes more than two dozen photos of the Texas mall and surrounding areas, including Google location information that shows when the mall is at its busiest. It was posted in the days leading up to the attack.
Alex Woodward reports:
Texas shooter Mauricio Garcia’s alleged soical media posts reveal Nazi images
Texas shooter Mauricio Garcia