The gunman who killed eight people and wounded seven others at an Allen, Texas, shopping mall was identified by law enforcement as Mauricio Garcia, according to multiple reports.
Garcia, a 33-year-old man who reportedly worked as a security guard, was killed by police officers who responded to the scene on Saturday. Police interviewed his family at their Dallas home on Saturday, according to NBC News.
The sudden shooting at the Allen Premium Outlets left mall guests rattled, with hordes of people leaving the mall with their hands raised. Photos showed the suspect dead on the ground with a rifle resembling an AR-15 laying nearby. Armed with the rifle and an additional handgun, Garcia was covered in body armor and ammunition, with more ammunition and weapons later found in his car.
It was unclear what connection, if any, Garcia had to the outlet mall. But authorities are investigating the possibility of right-wing extremism as a motive after finding a patch on his chest that said “RWDS”—an acronym for Right Wing Death Squad.
Additionally, two senior law enforcement officials told NBC News that Garcia both consumed and posted neo-Nazi and white supremacist content on the internet. Police say the motive remains unclear, however.
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, Garcia completed firearm proficiency training in 2018 for his work as a private security officer. He was a commissioned security guard in the state from April 2016 to April 2020, when his license expired. During that time, Garcia’s profile shows that he worked for at least three security companies.
The Allen Police Department said in a statement Sunday that the Texas Department of Public Safety would take over its investigation. Both the police department and the state agency did not respond to requests for comment on both Garcia’s identity and on whether it planned to host a press conference on Sunday.
One victim has been identified so far: 20-year-old Christian LaCour, a Farmersville resident who worked as a security guard. LaCour’s death was confirmed by his sister’s mother-in-law in a Facebook post.
“Words can not even begin to describe the devastation that our family feels,” she said in the post. “[There] will forever be a void.”
A vigil at an Allen church will take place Sunday evening to honor the shooting victims.
This is a developing story.
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