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Murder

Texas Mall Shooting: Gunman Identified as 33-Year-Old Security Guard with Possible Neo-Nazi Ties

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

On Saturday, a gunman clad in black body armour and armed with an AR-15-style assault rifle opened fire at the Allen Premium Outlets in Texas, killing eight people and injuring seven others. The suspect, Mauricio Garcia, a 33-year-old security guard and former US Army trainee, was identified by the Texas Department of Public Safety. Garcia was reportedly driven to the mall with several weapons and opened fire as soon as he stepped out of his vehicle, wearing black body armour and a patch on his chest that suggested he may have harboured extremist ideologies.

Key Takeaways:

  • Mauricio Garcia, a 33-year-old security guard and former US Army trainee, was identified as the gunman who killed eight people and injured seven others at the Allen Premium Outlets in Texas.
  • Garcia was reportedly driven to the mall with several weapons and opened fire as soon as he stepped out of his vehicle, wearing black body armour and a patch on his chest that suggested he may have harboured extremist ideologies.
  • The patch on Garcia's chest read RWDS, which stands for Right Wing Death Squad, a popular phrase among far-right extremists.
  • Police sources told NBC News that Garcia had posted and engaged with neo-Nazi and white supremacist content online, and his accounts have since been taken down.
  • Garcia trained with the US Army but was terminated in June 2008, three months into his training without completing entry training.
  • Garcia underwent firearms proficiency training as recently as 2018, according to the Texas Online Private Security database.
  • Garcia's security guard licence expired in April 2020, and it is unclear why it was suspended.
  • Private security guards in Texas are vetted and barred from gaining a licence if they have convictions for crimes such as assault or sexual offenses.
  • Garcia's family requested a translator to speak with authorities after the shooting.
  • The victims include Christian LaCour, a 20-year-old security guard at the mall, and Aishwarya Thatikonda, an engineer who moved to the US from India.
  • The mall shooting marked the start of a dark weekend for Texas, which also saw eight people killed in a migrant shelter in Brownsville and one person killed in a shooting on a DART train in Dallas.

Statistics:

  • 8 people were killed and 7 others were injured in the shooting at the Allen Premium Outlets.
  • The suspect, Mauricio Garcia, was 33 years old.
  • Garcia was a security guard and former US Army trainee.
  • The patch on Garcia's chest read RWDS, a popular phrase among far-right extremists.
  • Garcia trained with the US Army for three months in 2008 before being terminated.
  • Garcia underwent firearms proficiency training as recently as 2018.
  • Garcia's security guard licence expired in April 2020.
  • 8 people were killed in a migrant shelter in Brownsville on Sunday.
  • 1 person was killed and 2 others were injured in a shooting on a DART train in Dallas on Sunday.

Sources:

  • The Washington Post
  • NBC News
  • The Independent
  • CBS News
  • Fox News
  • WFAA
  • Texas Department of Public Safety
  • Allen Fire Chief Jonathan Boyd
  • US Army Public Affairs Spokeswoman Heather J Hagan
  • Dallas Area Hospital
  • CNN
  • Social media posts by Christian LaCour's grandmother and Aishwarya Thatikonda's family representative
  • Texas Rep Henry Cuellar
  • DART police
  • Local news outlets

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