Steven Spainhouer: Army veteran who claimed to help Texas mall massacre victims 'not a credible witness,' say police
ALLEN, TEXAS: The widely interviewed witness who claimed he helped the victims of the Texas mall massacre that left nine people dead has now been accused of lying and spreading false information, according to the Allen Police Department. Officers said that they found inconsistencies in the witness statements, adding that Army veteran Steven Spainhouer is not a "credible incident witness."
The self-proclaimed good samaritan said he rushed to the mall after he received a call from his son and learned about the incident. He said that he reached the scene before the arrival of any other first responders and he attempted to administer first aid to multiple shooting victims, reported New York Post.
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Spainhouer gained national attention for the selfless actions
Spainhouer who is a "gun lover" was praised for the actions he claimed amid the media outlets seeking gun reform. However, Allen police said that his testimonies did not align with the official timeline of the tragedy and warned the media and public to not share the former Army officer's version of the shooting.
In a statement, the police said, "Allen Police Department wants to inform the public of discrepancies with statements made by a witness to several media outlets. Following the shooting at Allen Premium Outlets, Mr Steven Spainhouer of McKinney, Texas, gave multiple public accounts of his actions."
"Inconsistencies between these public accounts and investigative facts led Allen Police Department to conduct a follow-up interview. During this interview, detectives determined that Mr Spainhouer is not a credible incident witness," the statement added.
Authorities said that on May 6, Spainhouer was at the shooting scene between 3.44 pm and 3.52 pm, minutes after a responding officer killed the shooter Mauricio Garcia. He "did not perform Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) or administer first aid" and "did not move a deceased mother who was covering a live child," authorities said.
Spainhouer is 'hurt and disappointed' by police's statement
In response to Allen police declaring that the Army veteran is not a credible witness, Spainhouer said he was "hurt and disappointed." He insisted that his version of the shooting is true and stated that first responders were not able to reach the scene in a reasonable time.
In a Facebook post responding to the allegations, Spainhouer wrote, "When I arrived at the H&M store, there was one person asking for my help. If there were other first responders there before I showed up, I would have no way of knowing it. If the Allen Police were at the mall before me, I would have no way to know it, because they were not at the H&M Store location where most of the shooting victims were located."
"I know what I did and did not do while waiting on the Allen Police and Fire Departments,” he continued. “I know that there were individuals who were deceased and could not be treated with CPR. I know because I was there. I did not move any victims, except the first one I found to check on her. A small child pulled himself from under a victim and I assisted him to a safe space away from the area," he added.
“Instead of targeting me on what I did or didn’t do, perhaps the Allen Police can explain why they took 20 minutes to get to the front of the H&M store where there were injured victims if they were already on site before I got there,” he concluded his post.