The gunman was armed with an AR-15 style rifle, according to the source. Investigators are looking into his potential extremist ties, based on his social media presence and an insignia on his clothing, the official said.
Victims in the attack range in age from 5 to 61 years old, according to a local medical group. Several remain hospitalized in the Dallas area.
More than a dozen victims: At least eight people were killed and seven more were wounded in the massacre, local officials said. Victims ranged in age from 5 to 61 years old, according to a Dallas-area medical group. A father who rushed to be with his son at the mall described the horror that awaited him there.
Police killed the gunman: An officer was already at the mall for an unrelated call when the gunfire broke out, the Allen police chief said Saturday. The officer followed the sound of gunshots, tracked down the shooter and killed him, according to the chief.
The shooter’s background: The gunman, who dressed in tactical gear, has been identified as 33-year-old Mauricio Garcia, a senior law enforcement source told CNN. Garcia had been living in some kind of temporary housing in the Dallas area, the source said. He used to work as a security guard and had received firearms training in that role, according to an official database.
The gunman’s weapons: The shooter was armed with an AR-15 style rifle and had at least one other weapon on him when he was gunned down by police, a senior law enforcement source told CNN. Police also found multiple weapons in his car.
Potential extremist ties: Authorities are investigating whether the shooter was motivated by right-wing extremism, a senior law enforcement source said. Authorities have not zeroed in on a specific motive, but the source said the shooter was found with an insignia on his clothing that read “RWDS” — an acronym known to watch groups — potentially standing for “Right Wing Death Squad.” He also had an extensive social media presence that included neo-Nazi and White supremacist-related posts, according to the official.
What we’re still waiting for: More word directly from Texas officials. Authorities did not hold an official news conference Sunday, and have released little information about their investigation. The FBI told CNN Sunday the Texas Department of Public Safety is the lead agency in the mass shooting investigation.
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A father rushed to the Allen outlet mall after getting a call from his son. He arrived to a horrifying scene
From CNN’s Sara Smart
Steven Spainhouer speaks with CNN.
CNN
Editor’s Note: This post contains graphic descriptions of the shooting’s aftermath.
A veteran and former police officer described the haunting scenes he found when he arrived at the outlet mall in Allen, Texas, Saturday.
The aftermath of the mass shooting there was “horrific,” Steven Spainhouer told CNN’s Fredricka Whitfield on Sunday. The former Army officer said he wouldn’t wish it upon anyone to see or experience what he did.
Spainhouer said he was planning to meet his son, who works at the H&M store at the outlet mall, for lunch. His son called to tell him about the active shooter and that he was sheltered in the break room at the store.
Spainhouer drove to the outlet mall and said when he showed up, he saw many people fleeing the scene and counted seven bodies on the ground.
He rushed up to different victims to check for a pulse, and said he witnessed one woman who had “nothing left of her face or head, it was gone.”
Spainhouer performed chest compressions on another victim, who coughed up blood and then died, he told CNN.
Then he saw a young child who crawled out from underneath one of the victims and was “caked with blood from head to toe,” Spainhouer said. The child kept saying that his mother was hurt.
The father, who has personal and professional experience handling firearms, said the horror he found at the mall will repeat itself if lawmakers don’t limit the access of certain weapons to the public.
Spainhouer added that both he and his son will receive counseling for what they witnessed Saturday.
Allen police subsequently disputed parts of Spainhouer’s account, noting “inconsistencies” between his media interviews and the facts of the investigation. The department said it conducted a follow-up interview with Spainhouer and “determined that [he] is not a credible incident witness.”
According to the police department, Spainhouer did not perform CPR, and did not move a deceased mother who was covering a child who survived the shooting.
In response, Spainhouer stood by his account, said he was “hurt and disappointed,” and clarified that “a small child pulled himself from under a victim and I assisted him to a safe space away from the area.”
This article was updated on May 16 to reflect the Allen Police Department’s statement disputing parts of Steven Spainhouer’s eyewitness account — and Spainhouer’s response to the police press release.
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Source: Authorities investigating Texas mall shooter's possible extremist motivations
From CNN's Josh Campbell
Authorities are investigating whether the Allen, Texas, outlet mall shooter was motivated by right-wing extremism, a senior law enforcement source familiar with the investigation tells CNN.
While the investigation remains ongoing and authorities have not zeroed in on a specific motive, the source said the deceased shooter was found with an insignia on his clothing that read “RWDS,” which authorities believe may stand for “Right Wing Death Squad.”
As the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that monitors and reports on extremism, has noted in the past, some members of extremist groups have been seen in recent years with patches bearing the same letters.
Investigators have also uncovered the gunman’s extensive social media presence, the law enforcement source tells CNN. It includes neo-Nazi and White supremacist-related posts, and images that authorities believe he shared online, according to the official.
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Mental health organization offers free counseling for residents following Allen outlet mall shooting
From CNN’s Sara Smart
Flowers and a stuffed animal are left at Allen Premium Outlets on May 7.
Stewart F. House/Getty Images
A local mental health group is offering free counseling to the residents of Collin County, Texas, following Saturday’s shooting at a Dallas-area outlet mall.
Lifepath Systems will offer free counseling to those affected by the shooting, working with law enforcement, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and Texas Health and Human Services, it said in a statement.
Lifepath System works as a unit of local government and a not-for-profit center, according to its website.
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Suspected gunman had received firearms training as a security guard
From CNN's Yahya Abou-Ghazala, Bob Ortega and Curt Devine
Mauricio Garcia — the 33-year-old who has been identified as the gunman in the Allen, Texas, outlet mall shooting, according to a senior law enforcement source — received firearms training for part of his work as a security officer, according to an official database.
Garcia was approved to work as a commissioned security guard in Texas from April 2016 until April 2020, when his license expired, according to the Texas Online Private Security database, maintained by the Texas Department of Public Safety.
His profile shows he worked for at least three security companies. None of those companies immediately responded to requests for comment.
According to the database, Garcia received Level II and Level III security training. The former covers security laws in Texas; the latter, which is required for all commissioned security officers in Texas, includes firearm training and the demonstration of firearm proficiency, according to Jonah Nathan, vice president of Ranger Guard, a security guard service in Texas not affiliated with Garcia’s employers.
In 2018, Garcia also completed a separate firearms proficiency training course, which requires six hours of continuing education, according to the Texas DPS database.
Private security guards in Texas undergo background checks and are disqualified if they have committed certain crimes, such as assault, burglary or sexual offenses, among others, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety website and state codes.
They are also disqualified if they have been dishonorably discharged from the US military; have been found incompetent by a court of law; or have been required to register as a sex offender. It’s unclear why Garcia’s license expired.
A police officer killed the gunman outside the outlet mall after he carried out the massacre Saturday, according to the Allen police chief. The shooting left at least least eight people dead and seven others wounded.
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NHL’s Dallas Stars cancel watch party due to recent shooting in Allen, Texas
From CNN's Homero DeLaFuente
The National Hockey League’s Dallas Stars have canceled Sunday’s playoff game watch party “out of respect for the victims” of the mall shooting in Allen, Texas.
“We are beyond heartbroken over yesterday’s shooting within our community in Allen. We are at a loss for words. Our hearts are with the victims, their families and our community,” the Stars said in a statement on Sunday.
Multiple people wounded in Texas mass shooting are being treated at local hospitals, police say
From CNN's Michelle Watson
At least four patients injured in Saturday’s mass shooting in Allen, Texas, are being treated at Medical City McKinney hospital near the Dallas suburb, police said in a news release Sunday.
Allen Fire Chief Jonathan Boyd said Saturday that at least nine shooting victims went to area hospitals after the shooting, two of whom succumbed to their injuries.
One wounded individual was transferred to Medical City Plano and is in fair condition, according to the Sunday release. Another individual was sent to Medical City Children’s Hospital and is in fair condition, the police department said.
The age of the patient sent to Medical City Children’s Hospital has not been released, but officials have earlier said that the victims ranged in age from 5 to 61.
The seventh surviving patient “was treated at a different area hospital,” the release added.
The shooting left at least eight people dead, according to local officials, and a police officer also killed the gunman outside the mall.
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Allen outlet mall shooter identified as 33-year-old man, senior law enforcement source tells CNN
From CNN's Josh Campbell and Ed Lavandera
The gunman in Saturday’s mass shooting in Allen, Texas, has been identified as Mauricio Garcia, 33, a senior law enforcement source familiar with the investigation tells CNN’s Josh Campbell.
In addition to the AR-15 style weapon found near him, Garcia had at least one other weapon on him when he was fatally shot in front of the mall, the source tells CNN. Police also found multiple weapons in his car.
CNN talked with neighbors who witnessed FBI and police at a home with an address matching that of Garcia’s parents Saturday night. Authorities arrived there about an hour after the shooting and blocked off the street for several hours, neighbors told CNN’s Ed Lavandera
Garcia had been living in some form of temporary housing, according to the senior law enforcement source. The Dallas Morning News reports the suspect had been staying in an extended-stay hotel in Dallas.
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Gunman used AR-15 style weapon in Allen massacre, Biden says
As previously reported, a photo from the scene obtained by CNN showed the suspected gunman dead on the ground near an AR-15 style rifle, armed with several extra magazines on his body.
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"We're living in a Texas nightmare": Uvalde lawmaker calls for stricter gun laws
From CNN's Josh Campbell and Jack Forrest
Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez speaks during a news conference in Austin, Texas, on January 24.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
A Texas state senator whose district includes Uvalde blasted inaction on gun control by the state’s Republican leadership in the wake of Saturday’s mass shooting in Allen, calling it a “Texas nightmare.”
“It’s a nightmare that they created. It’s a chaos that they created,” Democratic state Sen. Roland Gutierrez told CNN’s Jake Tapper Sunday.
On Saturday, Gutierrez had tweeted: “There is a special place in hell for people who watch all this happen and choose to do nothing,” along with the hashtag: “#bloodontheirhands.”
Gutierrez has been outspoken in the wake of the deadly mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, which left 19 students and two teachers dead.
CNN’s Ed Lavandera, Elizabeth Wolfe and Sharif Paget contributed to this report.
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FBI asks Texas mall shooting witnesses for video evidence
From CNN's Josh Campbell
The FBI is asking witnesses who have digital evidence from Saturday’s outlet mall shooting to submit information to an online portal created in the wake of the mass shooting.
The Texas Department of Public Safety is the lead agency in the shooting investigation, the FBI told CNN Sunday.
The bureau confirmed it “was present at two locations in Dallas,” and is helping state and local police by “devoting all available resources to include investigative, intelligence, digital forensics, and victim services personnel among others.”
Allen is a suburb of Dallas located about 25 miles north of the city.
Officials have released little information about their investigation into the massacre — including any potential motive. The shooting left at least eight people dead and seven more wounded.
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Biden again urges Congress to pass legislation to curb gun violence following mall shooting
From CNN's Sam Fossum and Jasmine Wright
President Joe Biden in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on April 20.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images/FILE
President Joe Biden again urged Congress to pass legislation banning assault weapons and enacting universal background checks in a statement reacting to the mass shooting in Allen, Texas.
The president’s statement also lists children among those killed. CNN has not independently confirmed whether children were among the dead, but CNN did report young children were being treated at the hospital.
“Once again I ask Congress to send me a bill banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Enacting universal background checks. Requiring safe storage. Ending immunity for gun manufacturers. I will sign it immediately. We need nothing less to keep our streets safe,” he added.
Biden said yesterday’s violence “is too shocking to be so familiar.”
He also said he is grateful for the first responders on the scene, and that he has directed federal agencies to provide support to local officials as needed.
Biden ordered flags at the White House and other federal buildings to half-staff to honor the victims through May 11.
News of the shooting emerged yesterday evening as Biden headed to church. As he left the church, he told reporters who asked about the shooting that he was “unaware” of the situation. The President was later briefed that night when he returned to the White House.
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Homeland security secretary says he spoke with Texas officials after Allen mass shooting
From CNN's Jasmine Wright
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas says he has spoken to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Allen Mayor Ken Fulk after Saturday’s deadly shooting outside an outlet mall.
Mayorkas declined to provide information about the shooter.
“I think it’s under investigation. The state and local authorities are leading that investigation,” he said.
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Biden orders flags lowered to half-staff to honor victims of Allen, Texas, shooting
From CNN's Sam Fossum
The US flag flies at half-staff over the White House in Washington, DC, on May 7.
Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images
President Joe Biden hasissued a proclamation honoring the victims of the mass shooting in Allen, Texas.
Biden ordered flags lowered to half-staff at the White House, on military bases and at all public buildings until May 11.
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Sen. Ted Cruz offers prayers for the families and victims of the mass shooting in Allen
From CNN"s Chloe Liu
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz expressed his condolences for the victims of the mall shooting in a tweet Saturday evening.
He added that his team was in contact with local officials.
Cruz also thanked “the incredible law enforcement who put a stop to the monster who committed this act of evil.”
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Texas Rep. Cuellar rejects calls for stricter laws, says shootings happen in blue states, too
From CNN's Andrew Millman
Rep. Henry Cuellar, during the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense hearing in the Rayburn Building, on March 23.
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images
Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Texas Democrat, told Fox News Sunday that authorities need to find answers on what exactly led up to the deadly mass shooting at an Allen, Texas, outlet mall yesterday.
“There’s always telltale signs before, there’s indicators should have looked out for,” he said.
Cuellar added that strict gun control measures have not ended mass shootings in blue states around the country, arguing more needs to be done to get to the root of the issue.
Some context: The attack in Allen, Texas, is one of at least 199 mass shootings in the US this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. The archive, like CNN, defines a mass shooting as one in which four or more people have been wounded or killed, excluding a gunman.
Texas has loosened restrictions on gun ownership in recent years amid several high-profile mass shootings that have devastated its communities. In 2021, legislation went into effect allowing most Texans who legally own a firearm to carry it openly in public without obtaining a permit or training.
A 2022 study found that states with weaker gun laws have higher rates of gun deaths, including homicides and suicides.
Correction: An earlier version of this post misidentified Rep. Henry Cuellar’s political party. He is a Democrat.
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All H&M employees at Allen outlet mall are safe and accounted for, company says. Store remains closed
From CNN's Michelle Watson
All H&M employees at the Allen Premium Outlets mall in Texas “are safe and accounted for,” after Saturday’s mass shooting, the company said in a statement to CNN Sunday.
Witnesses told CNN’s Ed Lavandera that the shooter first opened fire near the popular clothing chain’s store.
Eight people were killed and at least seven others were injured when a gunman opened fire at the crowded mall Saturday afternoon, marking the latest act of gun violence to shatter an American community as they are enjoying activities in public places.
The gunman was eventually killed by an Allen Police Department officer, who had been at the mall on an unrelated call, police said. Investigators believe the shooter was acting alone.
CNN’s Ed Lavandera, Elizabeth Wolfe and Sharif Paget contributed to this report.
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Texas governor says he'll visit Allen, Texas, on Sunday
From CNN's Michelle Watson
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he’s traveling to Allen, Texas, Sunday to meet with the community after a gunman killed eight people and injured seven on Saturday at an outlet mall.
“I’ll be going up to Allen later today to begin the process of providing hope and healing,” Abbott told Shannon Bream on “Fox News Sunday.”
Abbott reiterated thanks to local authorities for its “swift response,” to the situation.
Allen is a suburb of Dallas, located about 25 miles north of the city.
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There have been at least 199 mass shootings in the US this year. There were 3 on Saturday
From CNN's Zoe Sottile
Angela Cooper and Jamese Nathan embrace outside the Northside Medical Midtown facility as police officers work the scene of a shooting on May 3, in Atlanta, Georgia.
Megan Varner/Getty Images
The attack in Allen, Texas, is one of at least 199 mass shootings in the US this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
The archive, like CNN, defines a mass shooting as one in which four or more people have been wounded or killed, excluding a gunman.
The Allen massacre is one of three mass shootings that took place on Saturday, as recorded by the archive.
In the early morning hours, a shooting at a party in Chico, California, left five people injured and one dead.
Additionally, a shooting in Columbus, Ohio, left at least three people injured and one dead early Saturday, according to the archive.
The latest attack comes just days after a 24-year-old gunman allegedly shot one person dead at a medical facility in Atlanta and injured four others.
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"There is a special place in hell" for people who refuse to enact gun control laws, state senator says
From CNN's Josh Campbell
Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez at the Texas state Capitol on April 4, in Austin, Texas.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a Democrat whose district encompasses Uvalde, blasted politicians who refuse to enact reform measures in the wake of Saturday’s massacre in Allen.
Eight people were killed and at least seven others wounded when a gunman opened fire at the outlet mall Saturday afternoon, marking the latest act of gun violence to shatter an American community as they are enjoying activities in public places.
The gunman was killed by an Allen Police Department officer who was at the mall on an unrelated call, police said. Investigators believe the shooter was acting alone.
Gutierrez has been outspoken in the wake of the deadly mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, which left 19 students and two teachers dead.
CNN’s Ed Lavandera, Elizabeth Wolfe and Sharif Paget contributed to this report.
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Witness says her car was hit by gunfire as she and her daughter fled. The shooting "was nonstop"
From CNN's Ed Lavandera, Elizabeth Wolfe and Sharif Paget
Kimberly Blakey said she and her 14-year-old daughter were among the crowd trying to flee the parking lot of the Allen, Texas, outlet mall during the attack Saturday.
In her haste to get away, Blakey initially drove toward the sound of gunshots, before her daughter told her to turn around. But as she drove toward the exit, she said, they got stuck behind a scrum of other cars trying to do the same.
That’s when she felt her car get hit twice by gunfire.
The pair was able to get out of the parking lot and didn’t stop until they reached home, even when Blakey realized her car’s flat-tire warning light had come on.
“We were on a mission to get out of there,” she said.
The shooting was deeply disturbing, said Fatburger employee Tiffany Gipson, who told CNN she and other customers hid in a hallway behind their mall restaurant.
“I’ve never witnessed anything like this. This is very traumatic for me and I already suffer from anxiety and seizures,” Gipson said.
CNN’s Josh Campbell, Ashley Killough, Keith Allen, Andy Rose, Paradise Afshar, John Miller, Phil Gast and Emma Tucker contributed to this report.
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Texas has loosened gun laws in recent years
From CNN's Emma Tucker
Texas has loosened restrictions on gun ownership in recent years amid several high-profile mass shootings that have devastated its communities.
Recent shootings include the massacre in Uvalde, where a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school last May.
In 2021, legislation went into effect allowing most Texans who legally own a firearm to carry it openly in public without obtaining a permit or training.
A 2022 study found that states with weaker gun laws have higher rates of gun deaths, including homicides and suicides.
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Allen mayor pledges "complete support" for those impacted by Saturday's mass shooting
Mayor Ken Fulk speaks after a shooting on Saturday afternoon at an Allen, Texas, shopping mall.
KTVT
Mayor Ken Fulk called the deadly shooting Saturday afternoon at an Allen, Texas, shopping mall a “tragedy” in a statement released in the city’s latest shooting update.
Fulk said the city pledges its “complete support” to the victims and their families.
“We know you are grieving, we are grieving. Rest assured, the nation and the world are also grieving.”
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A vigil for the Texas shooting victims will be held at a local church Sunday evening
A vigil for the victims of the Allen, Texas, outlet mall shooting will be held at 5 p.m. CT (6 p.m ET) Sunday, according to state Rep. Jeff Leach.
The vigil will be held at the Cottonwood Creek Baptist Church in Allen, a less than 10-minute drive from the Allen Premium Outlets, where a gunman killed at least eight people Saturday.
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Families dove for cover and employees fled as gunman opened fire in deadly Texas mall shooting
From CNN's Ed Lavandera, Elizabeth Wolfe and Sharif Paget
Emergency vehicles line the entrance to the Allen Premium Outlets where a shooting took place on Saturday in Allen, Texas.
Stewart F. House/Getty Images
As the sound of gunfire began to resonate through the Allen Premium Outlets parking lot near Dallas, panicked shoppers screamed and ducked behind rows of cars as others sprinted across the lot, one witness video shows.
Inside the sprawling complex in suburban Allen, employees, shoppers and families with young children bolted to take cover in storage areas or back hallways, witnesses told CNN.
Eight people were killed and at least seven others wounded when a gunman opened fire at the outlet mall Saturday afternoon, marking the latest act of gun violence to shatter an American community as they are enjoying activities in public places.
The gunman was killed by an Allen Police Department officer who was at the mall on an unrelated call, police said. Investigators believe the shooter was acting alone.
A photo obtained by CNN shows what appears to be the gunman lying on the ground after being shot, with an AR-15-style firearm nearby. He is clad in black body armor and appears to have several extra magazines strapped in his chest gear.
At least nine people were rushed to trauma facilities, two of whom have since died, Allen Fire Chief Jonathan Boyd said. Of the surviving victims, three were in critical condition and undergoing surgery and four were stable as of Saturday night, he said.
A Dallas-area medical group said it was treating victims as young as 5 years old on Saturday.
