Christian LaCour: Family of identified Allen mall mass shooting victim remembers him as 'sweet young boy'
ALLEN, TEXAS: One of the eight people fatally shot by suspect Mauricio Garcia at the Allen Premium Outlets mall in Allen, Texas, on Saturday, May 6, 2023, was identified as Christian LaCour, a 20-year-old security guard who worked at the mall. The names of the other victims who were killed have not yet been released.
The suspect, who opened fire using an AR-15 style-assault weapon, was also killed after confrontation. A police officer, who was responding to a different incident at the mall heard the gunshots, rushed to the scene and killed the attacker. The officer said, “We got shots fired at the Allen Mall,” adding, “I got him down,” reports The Guardian.
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'We are horrified by the senseless tragedy'
In a statement on the attack, President Joe Biden on Sunday, May 7, said, "Yesterday, an assailant in tactical gear armed with an AR-15 style assault weapon gunned down innocent people in a shopping mall, and not for the first time. Such an attack is too shocking to be so familiar. And yet, American communities have suffered roughly 200 mass shootings already this year, according to leading counts. More than 14,000 of our fellow citizens have lost their lives, credible estimates show. The leading cause of death for American kids is gun violence."
While in a statement about the shooting, the mall said, “We are horrified by the senseless tragedy at Allen Premium Outlets and are outraged by the violence that continues to plague our country. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families and others affected by this heinous act. We are thankful for the Allen Police Officer’s heroic actions and for the support of all the first responders,” states New York Post.
Who was Christian LaCour?
"My beautiful grandson, Christian LaCour, was the security guard killed in the shooting at Allen Texas. He was such a beautiful soul, 20 years old with goals for his future I was so proud of him and so glad I got to see him 2 weeks ago," wrote LaCour's grandmother Sandra Montgomery.
While Kellie Smith, the mother of LaCour’s sister-in-law, said the family is devastated by the news. Talking about LaCour, Smith described him a a “sweet young boy” who turned into a “very sweet gentleman,” as per New York Post.
Smith said, "Words can not even begin to describe the devastation that our family feels. Their will forever be a void." As stated by Yahoo!, LaCour held a private security license from 2016 to 2020 and received firearms training.
FBI is asking anyone with information about the mass shooting to call 1-800-CALL-FBI.