A gunman who murdered eight people in a mass shooting at a Texas outlet mall wore a “Right Wing Death Squad” patch on his chest and may have held white supremacist beliefs, says a report.
Mauricio Garcia, 33, jumped out of a silver car and opened fire on a crowd of shoppers with an AR-15 rifle on Saturday afternoon at the Allen Premium Outlets in the city of Allen.
Now investigators are looking at the shooter’s possible far-right political beliefs as a motive for the shooting, people familiar with the investigation told The Washington Post.
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No official motivation for the killings has been given by police, but sources told the newspaper that Garcia had an “RWDS” patch on his chest, which stands for “Right Wing Death Squad”. The phrase is popular with neo-Nazis, white supremacists and right-wing extremists, the newspaper reported.
Garcia, who was wearing black body armour during his attack, was also shot and killed by police after the shocking incident unfolded.
Seven people died at the scene and two more were pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital, Allen Fire Department chief Jonathan Boyd told reporters on Saturday night.
Garcia, who was from the Allen area, was armed with multiple weapons as he went on his killing spree, and had an additional five firearms in his car, the source told the Post.
Witnesses also told investigators that the gunman’s tactical vest was crammed with ammunition clips.
The violence broke out at around 3.36pm CDT and a police officer who was already at the mall responding to another situation heard gunshots and “engaged the suspect and neutralized the threat,” Allen police chief Brian Harvey told reporters.
According to CBS News reporter JD Miles, Garcia was a security guard with no serious criminal record.
He had been living in a motel at the time the shooting, Mr Miles said.
FBI agents raided a Dallas home where Garcia had been living with his parents for years, according to Fox News.
Officers were stationed outside the address on Sunday. The suspect’s family reportedly requested a translator to speak with authorities.
