Mauricio Garcia: Allen mall shooter was discharged from Army due to 'mental health concerns'
ALLEN, TEXAS: Mauricio Garcia, 33, the Texas Mall shooter who killed eight people on Saturday, May 6 at Allen Premium Outlets was an Army veteran who was removed from services in 2008. Besides this, he allegedly had Neo-Nazi and white supremacist beliefs, as revealed by the content he reportedly posted on his social media.
Eight people were killed and seven more were injured in the attack which is being termed the second deadliest mass shooting of the year. Two other victims, Christian LaCour, 20 who worked as a security guard at the mall, and an engineer Aishwarya Thatikonda who was shopping at the time of the attack have been identified by the families so far.
READ MORE
Garcia has an insignia which res RWS- believed to be 'Right Wing Death Squad'
The Dallas gunman was armed with an AR-15-style rifle and was shot dead by the Allen police officer on the scene. He had a patch on his chest that read "RWDS" at the time of the massacre, the letters are thought to stand for "right-wing death squad," as per NBC. The investigations so far reveal the shooter was in the US Army for a brief period of time and was removed due to "mental health concerns" as per ABC 30.
He posted Neo-Nazi and White supremacist content
None of Garcia's social media posts examined so far have received any public comments, likes, or shares, the law enforcement report revealed. There were no publicly identifiable friends or associates on the shooter's account, investigators have found. Garcia had been living in some form of transient lodging, according to the law enforcement source. The Dallas Morning News reported the suspect had been staying in an extended-stay hotel in Dallas.
He was licensed to work as a security guard in Texas from April 2016 to April 2020
Garcia who had no criminal history as per CNN had received hours of firearms training as a security guard and had worked for at least three security companies in recent years. He was licensed to work as a security guard in Texas from April 2016 to April 2020 the year his license expired, the outlet reported citing Private Security Database.
In addition to an AR-15-style firearm and a handgun, police found several more weapons in his car. He was equipped with a ballistic vest and carried several magazines too. The reports suggest that among the injured three are stated to be in critical condition and four in stable condition. Medical groups reported that they treated victims as young as five years old.