By JAKE BLEIBERG, MICHAEL BALSAMO and JAMIE STENGLE (Associated Press)
ALLEN, Texas (AP) — Federal officers had been trying into whether or not the gunman who killed eight folks at a Dallas-area mall expressed an curiosity in white supremacist ideology Sunday as they work to attempt to discern a motive for the assault, a regulation enforcement official informed The Associated Press. The official cautioned the investigation is in its early levels.
Federal brokers have been reviewing social media accounts they consider Mauricio Garcia, 33, used and posts that expressed curiosity in white supremacist and neo-Nazi views, mentioned the official, who couldn’t talk about particulars of the investigation publicly and spoke to the AP on situation of anonymity.
Garcia additionally had a patch on his chest when he was killed by police that learn “RWDS,” an acronym for the phrase “Right Wing Death Squad,” which is standard amongst right-wing extremists and white supremacy teams, the official mentioned.
In addition to reviewing social media posts, federal brokers have interviewed members of the family and associates of Garcia to ask about his ideological beliefs, the official mentioned. Investigators are additionally reviewing monetary data, different on-line posts they consider Garcia made and different digital media, in keeping with the official.
Allen Police Chief Brian Harvey declined Sunday night to reply questions from the AP, saying of the investigation, “we actually don’t have a lot.”
The Texas Department of Public Safety recognized Garcia as suspected of killing eight folks at a Texas outlet mall, a day after the assault turned a day of buying right into a bloodbath.
Garcia was fatally shot Saturday by a police officer who occurred to be close to the suburban Dallas mall.
A regulation enforcement official mentioned investigators have been looking out a Dallas motel close to an interstate the place Garcia had been staying. The official mentioned police additionally discovered a number of weapons on the scene after Garcia was killed, together with an AR-15-style rifle and a handgun.
Two regulation enforcement officers mentioned investigators searched a Dallas residence related to the suspect. The officers spoke on situation of anonymity in an effort to talk about particulars of an ongoing investigation.
A girl who lives three homes down from the low brick Dallas-area residence that was searched mentioned she noticed a a big group of uniformed officers go into the house Saturday between 6 p.m. and seven p.m.
“They went in like real fast, and I seen them do that like twice,” mentioned Marsha Alexander, who mentioned officers had been nonetheless within the space when she went to mattress round 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. They had been passed by Sunday morning.
On Sunday afternoon, a lady named Julie was sitting on the porch of her home, which is subsequent door to the home police searched the day earlier than. She declined to offer her final identify to an AP reporter however mentioned she awoke from a nap round 6 p.m. Saturday to see 4 police squad automobiles and a big group of officers exterior her neighbor’s residence.
She mentioned they entered the house and had been joined about an hour later by FBI brokers and different folks carrying plainclothes, who she additionally took to be regulation enforcement.
The lady mentioned she didn’t know her neighbors nicely, however knew them to be “very polite, very nice people.” She mentioned the person she now understands to have been the shooter was at all times pleasant and would wave or honk his horn as he got here and went.
At about 2 p.m. Sunday, a person entered the house that was searched, however when reporters knocked on the door and waited, nobody answered.
In a press release, President Joe Biden mentioned the assailant wore tactical gear and fired an AR-15-style weapon. He urged Congress to enact tighter restrictions on firearms and ammunition.
“Such an attack is too shocking to be so familiar. And yet, American communities have suffered roughly 200 mass shootings already this year, according to leading counts,” mentioned Biden, who ordered flags lowered to half-staff.
Republicans in Congress, he mentioned, “cannot continue to meet this epidemic with a shrug.”
The taking pictures was the most recent assault to contribute to the unprecedented tempo of mass killings this yr within the U.S. Barely every week earlier than, 5 folks had been fatally shot in Cleveland, Texas, after a neighbor requested a person to cease firing his weapon whereas a child slept, authorities mentioned.
Information in regards to the gunman in Allen emerged because the group mourned the lifeless and awaited phrase on the seven individuals who had been wounded. Authorities haven’t publicly recognized those that had been killed.
The wounded remained hospitalized Sunday — three in crucial situation and 4 in truthful situation, the Allen Police Department mentioned in a press release.
John Mark Caton, senior pastor at Cottonwood Creek Church, about two miles from the mall, supplied prayers throughout a daily Sunday morning service for victims, first responders and the patrons and staff who “walked out past things they never should have seen.”
“Some of our people were there. Some perhaps in this room. Some of our students were working in those stores and will be changed forever by this,” Caton mentioned.
Caton supplied comparable sentiments throughout a Sunday night time vigil on the church attended by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who has signed legal guidelines easing firearms restrictions following previous mass shootings in Texas, and different elected leaders. Earlier that day, Abbott mentioned on Fox News that Texas wouldn’t enact gun management now.
“People want a quick solution,” Abbott mentioned. “The long term solution here is to address the mental health issue.”
The assault unfolded at Allen Premium Outlets, a sprawling out of doors buying middle. Witnesses reported seeing kids among the many victims. Some mentioned in addition they noticed what gave the impression to be a police officer and a mall safety guard unconscious on the bottom.
Andria Gaither, the assistant supervisor on the Tommy Hilfiger clothes retailer, mentioned Sunday she was behind the shop Saturday afternoon when she noticed two younger ladies making an attempt to cover in a dressing room. At first, she thought they had been taking part in. Then she heard one say photographs had been being fired.
Gaither appeared round to see prospects and the shop supervisor operating to the again of the enterprise. Eventually, Gaither and the others ran out a again door.
“As soon as I got outside the back of the store, you could hear the shooting,” Gaither mentioned Sunday. “It was so loud. I’d never ever heard anything like that in my life. It was deafening.”
Allen, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of downtown Dallas and with a inhabitants of about 105,000 residents, is among the many Dallas-Fort Worth space’s numerous suburbs. The space noticed the biggest Asian American development price of any main U.S. metro space, in keeping with U.S. Census figures. Those statistics present Allen’s inhabitants is about 19% Asian, 10% Black and 11% Hispanic.
Allen is also related to a different of Texas’ latest mass shootings. Patrick Crusius lived there in 2019 earlier than he posted a racist screed on-line that warned of a “Hispanic invasion” and drove to El Paso, the place he opened hearth at a Walmart killing 23. Crusius, 24, pleaded responsible to federal hate crime and weapons prices in February.
Mass killings have occurred with staggering frequency within the United States this yr, with a median of about one per week, in keeping with a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.
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Balsamo reported from Washington, and Stengle reported from Dallas. Associated Press writers Vanessa Alvarez in New York, James Vertuno in Austin, Adam Kealoha Causey in Dallas, Gene Johnson in Seattle and Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, contributed to this report.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”