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As the names of the eight people killed in a shooting at a suburban Dallas mall emerged Monday, authorities worked to determine whether the gunman − who was kicked out of the Army after three months due to mental health issues − was motivated by white supremacist and neo-Nazi views.
Federal agents have been reviewing social media accounts they believe were used by Mauricio Garcia, 33. Dozens of social media posts suggest Garcia had an affinity with white supremacist views and influencers, according to multiple experts’ research. A review of dozens of the posts, provided to USA TODAY by the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, found references to the Daily Stormer, a neo-Nazi website, and various expressions of race-based hatred.
The person making the posts identified himself as Mauricio, and federal agents confirmed to multiple news outlets that they were investigating accounts espousing white supremacy, which they believed belonged to him.
Garcia’s links to that ideology reportedly included social media posts as well as a patch on his chest that read “RWDS,” an acronym for the phrase “Right Wing Death Squad” that is popular among right-wing extremists and white supremacy groups.
Garcia joined the Army in 2008 but was terminated three months later without completing his initial training, Army spokeswoman Heather Hagan said without providing details. Another Army official who requested anonymity said the reason was mental health concerns.
Garcia was killed by police responding to Saturday’s assault in Allen, Texas, which left seven people with injuries that required hospitalization, Allen Fire Chief Jonathan Boyd said.
A deeper look at shopping mall shooting in Allen, Texas, second-deadliest in 2023
Developments:
∙ The attack in Allen is the year’s second-deadliest in the nation. A mass shooting in January in Monterey Park, California, left 11 people dead and nine injured after that city’s Lunar New Year festival.
∙ Patrick Crusius lived in Allen in 2019 before he posted a racist screed online that warned of a “Hispanic invasion” and drove to El Paso, where he opened fire at a Walmart, killing 23. Crusius, 24, pleaded guilty to federal hate crime and weapons charges in February.
What we know about the victims
The Texas Department of Public Safety identified Monday afternoon five of the eight persons killed in the Allen mall shooting, withholding the names of the other three because they were minors. Those three children have been identified by relatives or other sources.
The victims include three members of a Korean American family, two sisters who were attending elementary school at a nearby town, an engineer from India, a young security guard and a Dallas resident.
The Cho family
Kyu Song Cho, 37, and his wife Cindy Cho, 35, were killed in the attack, according to the TDPS. Friends who set up a GoFundMe page said their 3-year-old son James also died. “After being released from the ICU, their six year old son William is the only surviving member of this horrific event,” the posting said.
It’s unclear who will care for William, whose family lived in Dallas.
The GoFundMe page received more than $640,000 in donations − far surpassing its initial goal of $50,000 − in its first seven hours.
Sofia and Daniela Mendoza
WFAA-TV reported the girls attended Cheri Cox Elementary School in the Wylie Independent School District, where Sofia, 8, was in second grade and Daniela, 11, in fourth. The district identified them in an e-mail to the school community and said their mother, Ilda, is in critical condition after the shooting, WFAA reported.
Cox principal Krista Wilson called the girls “rays of sunshine” in the email from the district, which also said, “Daniela and Sofia will not be forgotten. Hug your kids, and tell them you love them.”
Christian LaCour
LaCour, 23, was a security guard working at the mall when he was killed Saturday, family members told news outlets. Max Weiss, who worked in a store a the mall, told CNN LaCour was “the kind of person who would just walk into the store and everyone in the room would light up because he was there. … He brought laughter and joy.”
Aishwarya Thatikonda
The 26-year-old engineer from India lived in McKinney, seven miles north of Allen. A family representative told WFAA that Thatikonda was visiting the mall with a friend, who was injured in the shooting and is in stable condition at a hospital.
The family wants to have Thatikonda’s body sent to India, the representative said.
Elio Cumana-Rivas
Not much information has surfaced yet about Cumana-Rivas, other than he was 32 and lived in Dallas.
Medical City Healthcare said Monday it was treating six patients at three of its hospitals: Three were in critical condition, two were in fair condition and one was in good condition at a children’s hospital. Police said a seventh wounded person was taken to a different hospital.
What we know about Mauricio Garcia
According to a search warrant obtained by WFAA-TV, investigators found several handguns, long guns and ammunition inside Garcia’s gray 2014 Dodge Charger at the scene of the shooting.
Garcia was a licensed security guard who most recently worked at an aluminum supply company.
“It still sends a chill down your spine knowing that the person who would commit a horrific crime like this lives five houses away,” Moises Carreon, who lived near Garcia’s listed address in Dallas, told Fox4news.com.
The poster of hate-filled messages believed to be Garcia appeared to have been confounded by his own ethnicity.
In one post he wrote: “This white guy came up to me one day while I was on assignment, I don’t even know how it came up but he said ‘Are you Hispanic?’ I told him ‘Yuck don’t remind me’ I’m hispanic weather [sic] I like it or not.”
The poster referred to several media personalities who have helped spread far-right conspiracy theories, including the podcaster Joe Rogan and internet personality and former journalist Tim Pool. The poster also specifically references reading a story in the Daily Stormer.
A federal official told the Associated Press that when police killed Garcia, he was wearing a patch on his clothing that said “RWDS” — an acronym for “Right Wing Death Squad.” Similar patches have been worn by members of the Proud Boys, among others.
– Will Carless
Thousands mourn victims as protesters demand gun law reform
A vigil at Cottonwood Creek Church led by senior pastor John Mark Caton drew Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and controversy. Multiple protesters were escorted from the service, and other protesters outside the church waved banners with slogans such as “I don’t want to be murdered at school” and “This voter opposes gun violence.”
After the vigil, Abbott tweeted that “the hearts of all Texans are with Allen, Texas. Tonight, I joined my fellow Texans in Allen for a community vigil for the innocent lives lost last night and those who are recovering from injuries. As this community heals, Texas will be with you every step of the way.”
Abbott has led a charge in Texas to ease gun laws, and he declined to support more restrictions despite the latest rampage, telling Fox News the long-term solutions remain dealing with mental health.
State Sen. Roland Gutierrez is a Democrat whose district includes Uvalde, where a school shooting last May killed 19 students and two staffers. Gutierrez was unmoved by Abbott’s argument.
“Republicans have loosened gun laws in #Texas so much that ANYONE can get their hands on a gun, even if they shouldn’t have one,” Gutierrez tweeted. “We must to put a stop to this. REMEMBER: 80% of Americans support commonsense gun safety laws! #txlege“
Texas House committee advances gun bill, but its fate appears doomed
After hearing demonstrators’ repeated chants of “Do Something!” in the Capitol hallways, a Republican-led Texas House committee advanced a bill Monday that would raise the purchase age for semiautomatic rifles from 18 to 21, just hours before a key deadline.
The unexpected turn of events represented a significant victory for advocates of stricter gun measures and especially the relatives of the Uvalde school shooting victims in attendance, several of whom burst into sobs and cheers when two Republicans joined all the Democrats on the committee to advance the bill to the full House by an 8-5 vote.
However, the bill has virtually no chance to become law in a state with a Republican-dominated Legislature that has loosened gun restrictions in recent sessions with the support of Gov. Greg Abbott, a fellow Republican.
Mack Segovia, whose stepdaughter, Eliahna, was killed in the Uvalde rampage, attended the Capitol rally Monday wearing a shirt with a photo of her in her softball uniform.
“It happened again. And it’s going to happen again and again and again,” Segovia said. “It happened this weekend in a mall. You’re not safe anywhere, anywhere we’re at anymore … It’s going to strike again, we just don’t know where.”
What happened at the Allen Premium Outlets mall outside Dallas?
Police and witnesses said the gunman parked his car at about 3:30 p.m. Saturday at the crowded mall, which has more than 120 stores. The killer began shooting people as they walked along sidewalks nearby. Dashcam video circulating online showed the gunman getting out of a car and starting to shoot. More than three dozen shots could be heard as the vehicle recording the video drove away.
A police officer responding to an unrelated call nearby heard the shooting and engaged the gunman. The gunman was shot and killed, police said.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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