The man who opened fire Saturday at an outlet mall in Allen, Texas, killing eight people and wounding at least seven others was identified as 33-year-old Mauricio Garcia, the Texas Department of Public Safety said Sunday.
Authorities have not yet zeroed in on a specific motive, but investigators uncovered an extensive social media presence by the gunman, including a possible link to right-wing extremism, a senior law enforcement source familiar with the investigation told CNN.
As the probe continues, another American community is left grieving in the aftermath of another mass shooting at a public place that once felt safe — from supermarkets, schools and Fourth of July parades.
The massacre unfolded in the same week a gunman opened fire in a medical facility in Atlanta, killing one woman and wounding four others. And it came just weeks before Texas will mark a year since 19 students and two teachers were killed at Robb Elementary school in Uvalde.
The gunman in Saturday’s massacre was killed by an Allen Police Department officer who was at the mall on an unrelated call, police said. Investigators believe the shooter was acting alone.
Geoffrey Keaton was eating at the mall’s Fatburger restaurant Saturday with his daughter when they heard gunshots approaching. They were rushed to a corridor and then outside, where Keaton said he saw people down on the sidewalk.
“It was traumatic,” he told CNN Sunday evening. “It was fast. It was definitely not anything that you expect or (are) prepared for because who prepares for a thing like that?”
“You don’t expect to go to the mall and lose your life,” Keaton said. There have been 202 mass shootings across the US within the first five months of this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Both the nonprofit and CNN define mass shootings as those in which four or more people are shot, excluding the shooter.
One of the victims in Saturday’s massacre was identified by his family as Christian LaCour. “Christian was a sweet, caring young man who was loved greatly by our family,” his older sister Brianna Smith shared with CNN.
