By Alisha Ebrahimji, CNN
The country is as soon as once more in mourning following a mass capturing at an outlet mall in Texas. The suspected gunman, who is thought to have ties to white supremacist ideology, killed 8 other folks and injured a minimum of seven others.
Law enforcement officers have recognized the shooter as Mauricio Garcia, 33, who performed the assault in Allen, a suburb situated about 25 miles north of Dallas on Saturday. A video captured via a witness’s dashcam displays Garcia getting out of his automobile and right away opening hearth on unsuspecting consumers, staff, and households with youngsters.
Garcia used to be shot and killed on the scene via an officer from the Allen Police Department who used to be close by when the capturing began. No cause has been introduced.
Here is what we know up to now about the gunman:
Possible Ties to Extremist Groups
Investigators are taking into account whether or not right-wing extremism will have motivated Garcia to hold out the assault. A senior legislation enforcement supply conversant in the case knowledgeable CNN that government imagine Garcia used to be dressed in an insignia related to extremist teams, and they have got found out an intensive social media presence that includes neo-Nazi and white supremacist-related posts and pictures that Garcia allegedly shared on-line.
{A photograph} acquired via CNN displays Garcia mendacity on the flooring after being shot outdoor a Fatburger eating place at the Allen Premium Outlets. Along with an AR-15 taste firearm and one different weapon discovered with Garcia, police found out a number of extra guns in his automobile, consistent with the identical legislation enforcement supply.
Neighbors of an deal with that fits Garcia’s folks’ advised CNN that in a while after the assault, police and the FBI arrived at the house, blockading the side road for a number of hours. Two neighbors expressed surprise and dismay upon listening to that Garcia used to be the shooter.
Garcia have been residing in more than a few kinds of brief accommodation, consistent with the legislation enforcement supply. The Dallas Morning News has reported that Garcia have been staying at an extended-stay lodge in Dallas.
Gunman had Received Firearms Training as a Guard
Garcia served in brief in the army, however used to be discharged because of issues relating to his psychological well being. A legislation enforcement supply conversant in the investigation advised CNN that they might no longer specify the department that Garcia served in or his dates of carrier. The Pentagon has no longer but commented.
The gunman labored for a minimum of 3 safety corporations and had passed through a number of hours of firearms talent coaching lately, consistent with a database maintained via the Texas Department of Public Safety. From April 2016 till April 2020, when his license expired, he used to be licensed to paintings as a safety guard in the state. Garcia had gained Level II and Level III safety coaching, which contains firearm coaching and the demonstration of firearm talent, consistent with a vp of Ranger Guard, a Texas-based safety guard carrier.
Although Garcia labored for Dallas-based Ruiz Protective Service in 2015, Hector Ruiz, the corporate’s head, said that he may just no longer recall any interactions he had with Garcia and that it used to be no longer out of the abnormal for safety guards to paintings for brief periods or between other corporations. Ruiz said that Garcia had resigned after a couple of months of running for the corporate.
CNN’s Yahya Abou-Ghazala, Bob Ortega, Curt Devine, Josh Campbell, Ed Lavandera, Elizabeth Wolfe, and Sara Smart contributed to this file.
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