Texas mall gunman carried eight firearms to mass shooting, police confirm
All eight firearms were obtained legally, according to law enforcement
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The gunman who killed eight people and injured seven others at an outlet mall in Allen, Texas, brought eight weapons with him, police have confirmed in a press conference.
Mauricio Garcia, 33, the man law enforcement identified as the gunman, used an AR-15-style rifle to carry out the mass shooting at the Allen Premium Outlets on Saturday (6 May).
But according to police, Garcia had seven additional weapons.
“He had eight weapons with him,” Hank Sibley, the regional director of the Texas Department of Safety, said on Tuesday.
Mr Sibley said three of the eight weapons were carried by Garcia while five remained in the vehicle he drove to the outlet.
All eight were legally obtained by the gunman, Mr Sibley confirmed, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms ran traces on all of the weapons.
Garcia used one of his weapons to shoot and kill eight people, three of whom were young children, and injure seven others, according to authorities.
The victims are 20-year-old Christian LaCour, 26-year-old Aishwarya Thatikonda, 37-year-old Kyu Song Cho, 35-year-old Cindy Cho, three-year-old James Cho, 11-year-old Daniela Mendoza, 8-year-old Sofia Mendoza and 32-year-old Elio Cumana-Rivas.
Law enforcement said the shooting only lasted between three to four minutes before a police officer subdued the gunman.
Mr Sibley said the motive of the gunman was still unknown though law enforcement indicated Garcia had “neo-Nazi ideation”.
Garcia was found at the shooting bearing patches that said “RWDS,” an acronym for “Right Wing Death Squad.”
An online profile on the Russian website ok.ru that seemed to have belonged to Garcia also included posts from the gunman that had photos of the Allen Premium Outlets mall and location information that showed when the mall was at its busiest.
Posts reviewed by The Independent included praise for Adolf Hitler, photos showing SS, incel-like ideas and complaints about the state of his mental health.