2023 Allen, Texas mall shooting
2023 Allen, Texas mall shooting | |
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Location | AR-15 style rifle[1] |
Deaths | 9 (including the perpetrator) |
Injured | 7 |
Perpetrator | Mauricio Martinez Garcia[2] |
Motive | Unknown |
Part of a series on |
Neo-fascism |
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Politics portal |
On May 6, 2023, a mass shooting occurred at Allen Premium Outlets, an outlet center in Allen, Texas, United States. Nine people, including the perpetrator, were killed during the shooting, the youngest of whom was a three-year-old boy, and seven others were injured.[3] The perpetrator was fatally shot by a police officer already in the area on an unrelated call.[4]
The shooter, 33-year-old Mauricio Martinez Garcia, was a
Background
Opened in September 2000, Allen Premium Outlets is a large outdoor mall owned by Simon Property Group.[12] The center is located 25 miles (40 km) north of Dallas, Texas, in a northern suburb of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex.[13]
Shooting
External videos | |
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BODYCAM: Allen police release video showing officer who shot and killed shooter |
The shooting began on May 6, 2023, at 3:36 p.m.
The Allen Police Department said that calls from the mall came in at 3:40 p.m.,[15] and tweeted at 4:22 p.m. that law enforcement was at the Allen Premium Outlets.[13] Allen police chief Brian Harvey said that an officer who was at the mall on an unrelated call, after hearing gunshots, engaged and killed the shooter.[4][19][14][23] Bodycam footage from the officer who shot the shooter was subsequently released.[24]
Three guns were found on the gunman's body; five more were recovered from his car. He had purchased all eight guns legally.
Victims
Nine people were killed, including the shooter.[4] Those killed were: Kyu Song Cho, 37; Cindy Cho, 35; James Cho, 3; Aishwarya Thatikonda, 27; Daniela Mendoza, 11; Sofia Mendoza, 8; Christian LaCour, 20; Elio Cumana-Rivas, 32.[3][29][30][31]
Seven others were injured, with three in critical condition.
Perpetrator
Mauricio Martinez Garcia (October 24, 1989
Political beliefs and online activity
During the attack, Garcia wore a patch with the insignia "RWDS" (standing for "
Garcia's online posts used
Aftermath
A vigil was held on May 7 at 5 p.m. at the Cottonwood Creek Baptist Church,[50] with Governor Greg Abbott and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick in attendance.[51] A makeshift memorial for the victims was erected near the mall, with crosses installed in honor of the deceased by artist Roberto Marquez, who had erected crosses at other mass shooting locations.[52]
On May 8, the
On May 8–9, mall patrons were allowed to retrieve their parked vehicles under security escort.[28][56] Personal belongings found in the mall were transferred by police to a nearby recreation center for retrieval.[28]
On May 10, the plans of at least three Plano Independent School District high schools to walk out on May 17 in protest of continued gun violence was shared by students on social media. Threats had also been made against multiple schools in North Texas after the shooting which at least one student highlighted when speaking about his participation in the walk-out.[57] Student walkouts protesting perceived government inaction in response to the shooting took place on May 11 at Allen High School, the Lovejoy Independent School District, and San Antonio.[58]
On May 16, volunteers and first responders dismantled a large makeshift memorial at the outlet mall.[59]
The mall reopened on May 31, but individual stores reopened at the discretion of the owners.[60][61][62]
On May 18, the city of Allen and a
On June 28, footage from the body cam of the police officer who shot and killed the perpetrator was released.[64]
Investigation
Police said that Garcia had been staying at an extended-stay hotel in northwest Dallas, and that search warrants had been executed at the hotel and a home in northeast Dallas.[65] His motive for committing the shooting is unknown.[66]
On June 26, a grand jury cleared the unnamed officer who fatally shot Garcia of any wrongdoing, saying state law justified the use of force. Two days later the Allen Police Department released an edited version of the officer's body cam footage, beginning with the first heard shots and ending with the officer approaching the mortally wounded Garcia. Allen Police also said they had requested an independent review from the International Association of Chiefs of Police for purposes of improving training.[67]
Reactions
President
Abbott said the shooting was an "unspeakable tragedy" and Patrick said, "We are grateful for our brave first responders who were deployed to stop the shooter and investigate this hideous crime. We are thankful for their bravery and courage".[71] Abbott said he would travel to Allen on Sunday to meet with the community.[72] Senator Ted Cruz thanked "incredible law enforcement" for stopping the shooting and also offered prayers to the victims.[73]
Representative
State senator
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, Seattle Seahawks safety Steven Terrell, Washington Commanders running back Jonathan Williams, and Detroit Lions defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike—all alumni of Allen High School—released statements on Twitter.[82] The Dallas Stars of the NHL canceled a watch party in front of the American Airlines Center for their third game against the Seattle Kraken in the NHL playoffs "out of respect for the victims, families, and community of Allen."[83]
Other commentators expressed their outrage at the unfiltered and bloody photos of the deceased victims that spread across Twitter, without any filtering or warnings before a person could view them.[84] While the images were visible for a period of time at or near the top of search results on the site, they were majorly taken down by May 8, with edited clips of brief frames of the material and links leading to spam websites replacing them.[85]
Misinformation and disinformation
Although the shooter's deep affinity for neo-Nazism and the
Another man named Mauricio Garcia subsequently filed a lawsuit against Pool, Fox News, Owen Shroyer, and other media outlets who had wrongly identified his picture as that of the shooter, alleging that they refused to issue retractions.[87]
See also
References
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- ^ a b McCleary, Christina Zdanowicz,Kelly (May 8, 2023). "2 families lost multiple loved ones in the Texas outlet mall shooting". CNN. Archived from the original on May 9, 2023. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
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'If the military knows that a man has mental issues to the extent that he's going to be denied continuing his training,' said Rep. Keith Self, a conservative, pro-gun rights freshman who represents Allen, 'that seems like sufficient reason for them to put it in the national database... That's exactly the kind of person we're trying to keep weapons out of the hands of.'... If Garcia passed a background check, Self said, it's because of a 'loophole' he intends to fix. 'We're not talking about a red flag law here,' he said. 'We're talking about the U.S. military that has made the determination that this man had significant mental health challenges.'
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