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.
ICYMI: Authorities examining ideology of Texas gunman
Law enforcement is looking into the ideology of 33-year-old Mauricio Garcia who killed eight people and injured seven others during a mass shooting at the Allen Premium Outlets on Saturday.
Garcia displayed “neo-Nazi ideation” Hank Sibley, a regional director of the Texas Department of Safety said in a press conference on Tuesday.
The gunman had tattoos of Nazi symbols and was found with a patch on his body armour that read “RWDS” an acronym for “Right Wing Death Squad” - a popular saying among right-wing extremists.
According to law enforcement, the FBI is investigating Garcia’s ideology by examining his electronic devices and interviewing Garcia’s family members.
Posts show Texas mall gunman researched attack for weeks
Posts by Mauricio Garcia on a Russian social networking site suggest that he planned for weeks before he opened fire at a suburban Dallas shopping mall last weekend, killing eight people and wounding seven others.
Garcia, 33, researched when the mall in Allen was busiest — Saturday afternoons — and posted photos on social media in mid-April of a store near where he ultimately started his attack last Saturday, which ended with police killing him.
His online activity also betrayed a fascination with white supremacy and mass shootings, which he described as sport. Photos Garcia posted showed large Nazi tattoos on his arm and torso, including a swastika and the SS lightning bolt logo of Adolf Hitler’s paramilitary forces.
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!”
Twitter under fire for allowing graphic images of Texas mass shooting victims to circulate for hours
In the days after a mass shooting at Allen Premium Outlets in Texas, footage depicting the immediate and gruesome aftermath of the shooting began circulating on Twitter.
Unknowing Twitter users opened up the social media platform on Monday only to see a video depicting several victims lying on the ground covered in blood with some body parts visible.
Another video showed the gunman deceased, with blood coming from his body. Stills from the video were shared separately.
For hours, the footage haunted people’s “for you” feeds. Even those not seeking out the content stumbled across it.
Ariana Baio reports:
Twitter under fire for allowing graphic images of shooting to circulate for hours
Violent and gruesome footage from the mass shooting circulated on unsuspecting people’s Twitter feeds
Texas mall gunman carried eight firearms to mass shooting, police confirm
The gunman who killed eight people and injured seven others at an outlet mall in Allen, Texas, brought eight weapons with him, police have confirmed in a press conference.
Mauricio Garcia, 33, the man law enforcement identified as the gunman, used an AR-15-style rifle to carry out the mass shooting at the Allen Premium Outlets on Saturday (6 May).
But according to police, Garcia had seven additional weapons.
“He had eight weapons with him,” Hank Sibley, the regional director of the Texas Department of Safety, said on Tuesday.
Ariana Baio reports:
Texas mall gunman carried eight weapons to mass shooting, police confirm
All eight firearms were obtained legally, according to law enforcement
Shooting victim hailed as hero for helping person to safety before he was killed
Christian LaCour, 20, a security guard working at an outlet mall in Allen, Texas, was remembered as a hero on Tuesday after it was revealed he helped escort others to safety before he was shot and killed during a mass shooting on Saturday.
Allen Police Department Chief Brian Harvey said LaCour helped escort one individual to safety and remained on site trying to help others when Mauricio Garcia, 33, shot and killed him.
Garcia murdered eight people at the outlet mall, including children, before police shot and killed him.
LaCour’s sister, Breanna Smith, remembered her brother in an interview with CNN.
“Christian was a sweet, caring young man who was loved greatly by our family,” she said.
Elon Musk reacts to theories that gunman was a ‘psyop’
Elon Musk appeared to entertain 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.
One profile reportedly belonging to the gunman, who police identified as Mauricio Garcia, shared extremist views about mass shootings and white supremacy. The same profile also praised Libs of TikTok, a Twitter account run by right-wing activist Chaya Raichik, which targets the LGBT+ community. Mr Musk frequently interacts with the Libs of TikTok Twitter account.
Mr Musk later doubled down on his comments, calling it “either the weirdest story ever or a very bad psyop!”
Texas mall shooting witness says he ‘loves guns’ but US needs to take action
A gun owner who rushed to the scene of the shooting in Allen, Texas, to help rescue victims has said it is time for the US to change its policies regarding semi-automatic weapons.
Steven Spainhouer drove to the Allen Premium Outlets on Saturday evening after his son, who was working at an H&M store at the mall, texted him saying that there was an active shooting situation. Upon arriving at the scene of the carnage, Mr Spainhoeur told CBS that he found children covered in blood from head to toe, including a little girl whose face had been blown out by bullets from the AR-15-style rifle the gunman used to carry out the attack.
Eight people were killed before a police officer, who was at the scene responding to an unrelated call, managed to take down shooter Mauricio Garcia, 33.
In response to calls for “thoughts and prayers” from Texas Governor Greg Abbott and other politicians, Mr Spainhouer told CNN those wishes fall short of addressing the concerning epidemic of gun violence in the US.
Mr Spainhouer, a former police officer and self-proclaimed gun lover, noted that regulations in the purchase of semi-automatic rifles, such as the one used in the latest gun massacre in America, have never been of more importance.
“We used to have a ban on assault weapons nationally,” Mr Spainhouer told the network, likely referencing the Federal Assault Weapons Ban that expired in 2004. “We can do that at the state level. We can put red flags in place. we can limit high-capacity rounds. We can stop putting weapons like the AR-15 in the hands of people that don’t need them.”
Shooting only lasted 3-4 minutes
Law enforcement said that the mass shooting that took place in Allen, Texas on Saturday (6 May) only lasted 3-4 minutes.
Eight people died and seven others were injured in the short amount of time the gunman was on the loose.
Hank Sibley, the regional director of the Texas Department of Safety said on Tuesday in a press conference that they estimated the shooting only lasted a few minutes before a police officer shot Garica.
Texas mall shooting victim Christian LaCour hailed as a hero for helping person to safety before he was killed
Christian LaCour, 20, a security guard working at an outlet mall in Allen, Texas, was remembered as a hero on Tuesday after it was revealed he helped escort others to safety before he was shot and killed during a mass shooting on Saturday.
Allen Police Department Chief Brian Harvey said LaCour helped escort one individual to safety and remained on site trying to help others when Mauricio Garcia, 33, shot and killed him.
Garcia murdered eight people at the outlet mall, including children, before police shot and killed him.
LaCour’s sister, Breanna Smith, remembered her brother in an interview with CNN.
“Christian was a sweet, caring young man who was loved greatly by our family,” she said.
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