On Saturday, a mass shooting at a suburban Dallas outlet mall resulted in eight deaths and seven injuries. This horrifying event, which saw severely wounded shoppers’ images circulating on social media, marked the 200th mass shooting in the U.S. for 2023. Among the survivors, three were critically injured. The shooter, who arrived in a gray Honda Accord at the Premium Outlets in Allen, Texas, was killed by a responding police officer. Police have now released further details about the shooter, Mauricio Garcia, and how he came into the possession of his rifles.
According to Fox4:
A social media page, which reportedly belonged to Garcia, talks about violence and Nazi imagery. It also allegedly shows the suspected gunman scouting the Allen Premium Outlets weeks prior to the attack, looking for when it would be busiest.
The Associated Press reports Garcia’s social media posts suggest he planned the attack weeks in advance and researched when the shopping center would be the busiest, but DPS did not address Garcia’s planning or canvassing of the mall. DPS said no manifesto has been found at this time.
“We do know that he had neo-Nazi ideation,” Sibley said. “He had patches. He had tattoos. Even his signature verified that.”
Sibley said Garcia had no criminal history and that all eight guns he had with him on the day of the shooting — three on his person and five in his car — were purchased legally. Investigators are now checking the weapons to see if they were used in any previously known crimes.
Other reports state that Garcia was part of the Texas prison gang, “Tango Blast,” after a gang affiliated tattoo was seen on his hand. A police search of his parents home will be conducted in the coming days and more details of his motive will likely emerge.
