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On Saturday, May 6, a lone gunman, identified as 33-year-old Mauricio Garcia, shot and killed eight people and injured seven others at a shopping mall in Allen, Texas, before being shot dead by police officers. Mauricio Garcia is believed to have acted alone when he went on a rampage in broad daylight at the mall, killing eight people, including children, at the scene.
As per multiple reports, while the motive for the killing is unclear, investigators suspect the 33-year-old was a neo-Nazi sympathizer. Authorities found an ‘RWDS’ - Right Wing Death Squad - patch on the slain Texas Gunman's chest after he was killed.
As per Associated Press, a further search of Mauricio Garcia’s social media accounts revealed extensive interest in white supremacist views. As per the publication, the authorities, who are exploring Garcia’s ideological beliefs, refused to discuss further details, citing an active investigation.
However, they disclosed they are interviewing the gunman's family to discern the motive for the Saturday afternoon massacre.
Mauricio Garcia was in the army in 2008
As per ABC News, Mauricio Garcia, a native of Dallas, Texas, was reportedly in the U.S army in 2008 before he was dismissed due to mental health issues. According to CNN, Garcia, who was licensed to work as a private security guard from 2016 to 2020, had received firearms training as part of his work.
Garcia has no criminal history, and he reportedly worked as a security guard for three private firms before his permit expired. According to authorities, at the time of the shooting, Mauricio Garcia was living in a transient lodging at a Dallas-area hotel.
A report in the Washington Post said that before the shooting, Garcia used to reside with his parents in East Dallas, east of White Rock Lake. The report cited the account of a neighbor who said that the gunman moved out of his parent's home a month or two ago.
According to the publication, Garcia’s neighbors described him as a non-threatening person who was distant but did not have any history of getting into serious trouble. A neighbor told the publication that Garcia was often found walking around the neighborhood wearing a uniform of a security guard or law enforcement officer.
Shortly after Garcia was shot dead, a clip captured by a social media user at the mall showed him dressed in all black tactical gear with an AR-15-style assault weapon laid out beside him on the floor.
Associated Press reported that neighbors saw officers go into Garcia’s parent's home on Saturday between 6 pm and 7 pm. The neighbor, identified as Marsha Alexander, told the outlet that officers, who searched the gunman’s parent's home, were gone by Sunday morning.
“They went in like real fast, and I saw them do that like twice.”
Another neighbor, identified only by her first name Julie, told the publication that she saw multiple law enforcement agencies at her neighbor’s house. The gunman's parents were described as “very polite, very nice people.”
The neighbor said that while she was not well-acquainted with the gunman or his family, she found that the shooter was a friendly person who would honk his horn and wave at them as he drove up and down the street.
Mauricio Garcia's social media allegedly espouses white supremacist ideologies
As per multiple reports, the Allen shopping mall was evacuated on Saturday after Mauricio Garcia opened fire and killed eight people. While police have yet to release the names of the victims, in a brief statement, Allen Fire Department Chief Jonathan Boyd said six people died on the scene while nine others were transported to area hospitals.
Shortly after being transported to the hospital, two people reportedly succumbed to their injuries. Boyd added that at least three people were in critical condition.
Police and the Texas Rangers, working with the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said that they were combing through Garcia’s social media accounts which showed several posts and images related to racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist rhetoric.
Police said that the investigations were still in the preliminary stage, where they were assessing if the killings were connected to the shooter's alleged extremist ideologies.
