On May 6, 2023, amass shooting occurred at Allen Premium Outlets, anoutlet center inAllen, Texas, United States. Nine people, including the perpetrator, were killed during the shooting, the youngest of whom was a three-year-old boy, and seven others were injured.[3] The perpetrator was fatally shot by a police officer already in the area on an unrelated call.[4]
The shooting began on May 6, 2023, at 3:36 p.m.CDT. Wearing black tactical gear,[14] the shooter exited a silver sedan and shot into a crowd outside the mall.[15][16][17] The gunman shot 15 people within three or four minutes.[18] Witnesses said the shooter appeared to be firing indiscriminately[19] and fired dozens of shots.[20] A store employee recounted that those running from the shooter alerted others of the shooting and helped shelter customers and employees in the backrooms of the store.[21] A military veteran attempted to giveCPR to at least three of the victims, and recounted that many victims were rushed to a hospital as they were unable to betriaged at the site due to the severity of the injuries.[22]
The Allen Police Department said that calls from the mall came in at 3:40 p.m.,[15] and tweeted at 4:22 p.m. that law enforcement was at the Allen Premium Outlets.[13] Allen police chief Brian Harvey said that an officer who was at the mall on an unrelated call, after hearing gunshots, engaged and killed the shooter.[4][19][14][23] Bodycam footage from the officer who shot the shooter was subsequently released.[24] According to the autopsy report, the shooter was shot a total of 3 times, once in the head through the mouth, once in the arm, and once in the ear, with the mouth shot being immediately fatal.[25]
Three guns were found on the gunman's body; five more were recovered from his car. He had purchased all eight guns legally.[26] He used anAR-15 style rifle during the shooting.[27][28] Authorities have not disclosed the exact types of firearms found at the scene.[29]
Nine people were killed, including the shooter.[4] Those killed were: Kyu Song Cho, 37; Shin Young "Cindy" Kang, 35; James Cho, 3; Aishwarya Thatikonda, 27; Daniela Mendoza, 11; Sofia Mendoza, 8; Christian LaCour, 20; Elio Cumana-Rivas, 32.[3][30][31][32]
Seven others were injured, with three in critical condition.[4]Medical City Healthcare said that it was treating victims ranging from 5 to 61 years old, with most of the victims being transported to Medical City'sMcKinney facility.[33] As of May 10, authorities had released no information regarding the identities of the wounded.[29] Other sources indicated that the injured included the mother of the two deceased sisters, and the other child of the family of Korean descent who was the sole survivor of his family.[30][34]
Mauricio Martinez Garcia (October 24, 1989[35] – May 6, 2023), aged 33, of Northeast Dallas[36] was the shooter.[37] Garcia had worked as a security guard for at least three companies in preceding years.[38] During his time working as a security guard, Garcia received firearms training.[38] He had been living in a motel before the shooting.[39] Garcia had no criminal history.[40] Shortly after graduatingBryan Adams High School inCasa View, Garcia was then enlisted in theU.S. Army in June 2008, but he never completedbasic training: he was terminated after three months due to mental health concerns.[41][42] Because this was anadministrative separation, rather than a punitive discharge, Garcia's termination by the Army would not show up on theNational Instant Criminal Background Check System, the national database used by US gun dealers to identify persons ineligible to purchase firearms.[43]
Garcia's online posts usedanti-Arab andanti-Asian slurs.[45][47] In different posts, he shared content and posted quotations, from far-right sources, including4chan,Nick Fuentes,[38] theDaily Stormer and its founderAndrew Anglin, theUnz Review,StoneToss, andVDARE.[5] He praised other mass shooters such as the perpetrators of the2023 Nashville school shooting and the2014 Isla Vista killings; uploaded photographs of the outlet mall site three weeks before the attack (including the entrance where he later opened fire, and screenshots of a page showing peak visiting hours for the mall), and fantasized aboutrace wars and the collapse of society.[6][47] In some posts, he identified himself as an "incel."[38] The account did not have any friends or comments from others, suggesting that he used the account as a diary.[48][49] Garcia may have selected the platform because it has almost nocontent moderation.[47] His final note on the platform, shortly before the mass shooting, bore resemblances to asuicide note; theWashington Post noted that the message "included more than 500 words of violent, hateful fantasies, self-aggrandizement and pop-culture references"[47] such as references toSouth Park, other television shows, and films.[38] Law enforcement said in a press conference that Garcia had "neo-Nazi ideation".[50]
A vigil was held on May 7 at 5 p.m. at the Cottonwood Creek Baptist Church,[51] withGovernorGreg Abbott andLieutenant GovernorDan Patrick in attendance.[52] A makeshift memorial for the victims was erected near the mall, with crosses installed in honor of the deceased by artist Roberto Marquez, who had erected crosses at other mass shooting locations.[53]
On May 8, theTexas House of Representatives Select Committee on Community Safety voted, 8–5, to advance a bill to raise the age to buyAR-15-style rifles from 18 to 21, with two Republicans joining all Democrats in support. The bill was considered to have been unlikely to be successful in theTexas Senate.[54] However, it never made it to the Senate as the Calendars Committee of the House left the bill off the schedule, preventing it from being voted on by the full House.[55][56]
On May 8–9, mall patrons were allowed to retrieve their parked vehicles under security escort.[29][57] Personal belongings found in the mall were transferred by police to a nearby recreation center for retrieval.[29]
On May 10, the plans of at least threePlano Independent School District high schools to walk out on May 17 in protest of continued gun violence was shared by students on social media. Threats had also been made against multiple schools inNorth Texas after the shooting which at least one student highlighted when speaking about his participation in the walk-out.[58] Student walkouts protesting perceived government inaction in response to the shooting took place on May 11 atAllen High School, the Lovejoy Independent School District, andSan Antonio.[59]
On May 16, volunteers and first responders dismantled a large makeshift memorial at the outlet mall.[60]
The mall reopened on May 31, but individual stores reopened at the discretion of the owners.[61][62][63]
On May 18, the city of Allen and agun show organizer announced that a gun show scheduled in Allen on July 15–16 had been canceled by mutual agreement, but neither party would elaborate on the reasons for the cancellation. The organizer announced that an incipient show inBedford, Texas, was also canceled, but did not disclose whether two shows scheduled in Allen later in 2023 would take place.[64]
On June 28, footage from the body cam of the police officer who shot and killed the perpetrator was released.[65]
One year after the shooting, on May 6th, 2024, an 11-foot tall permanent memorial was installed at the northwest interior section of the outlet mall.[66]
Police said that Garcia had been staying at an extended-stay hotel in northwest Dallas, and thatsearch warrants had been executed at the hotel and a home in northeast Dallas.[67] His motive for committing the shooting is unknown.[68]
On June 26, a grand jury cleared the unnamed officer who fatally shot Garcia of any wrongdoing, saying state law justified the use of force. Two days later the Allen Police Department released an edited version of the officer's body cam footage, beginning with the first heard shots and ending with the officer approaching the mortally wounded Garcia. Allen Police also said they had requested an independent review from theInternational Association of Chiefs of Police for purposes of improving training.[69]
Abbott said the shooting was an "unspeakable tragedy" and Patrick said, "We are grateful for our brave first responders who were deployed to stop the shooter and investigate this hideous crime. We are thankful for their bravery and courage".[73] Abbott said he would travel to Allen on Sunday to meet with the community.[74] SenatorTed Cruz thanked "incredible law enforcement" for stopping the shooting and also offered prayers to the victims.[75]
RepresentativeKeith Self, a Republican whosecongressional district includes Allen, dismissed calls for gun laws after the shooting, and blamed mass shootings on people with mental health issues "that we're not taking care of"; when asked about people's claims that prayers do not prevent mass shootings, Self responded: "Those are people that don't believe in an almighty God who is absolutely in control of our lives. I'm a Christian. I believe that he is."[76][77][78][79] Self's remark was criticized;[76][79] for example,Shannon Watts, the founder of the advocacy groupMoms Demand Action, responded: "Faith without works is dead. Prayers without action are empty."[79] On May 11, after learning the details of Garcia's administrative release from the army, Self characterized him as "exactly the kind of person we're trying to keep weapons out of the hands of" and said that Garcia's ability to buy guns legally was a loophole that he intends to fix; however, Self denied that he was discussing ared flag law.[80]
State senatorRoland Gutierrez, whose district includes the site of theRobb Elementary School shooting, called for more gun control, writing, "There is a special place in hell for people who watch all this happen and choose to do nothing."[81][82] Chris Hill, the county judge of theCollin CountyCommissioners' Court, expressed anger at "those that would do evil in our community, in our backyard."[83]
Other commentators expressed their outrage at the unfiltered and bloody photos of the deceased victims that spread across Twitter, without any filtering or warnings before a person could view them.[86] While the images were visible for a period of time at or near the top of search results on the site, they were largely taken down by May 8, with edited clips of brief frames of the material and links leading to spam websites replacing them.[87]
^Tolan, Casey; Murphy, Paul P.; Devine, Curt; Campbell, Josh; Ebrahimji, Alisha (May 9, 2023)."What we know about the North Texas outlet mall gunman and his online posts".CNN.The Odnoklassniki account, which has the username 'PsycoVision 5,' listed no friends or groups, suggesting Garcia may have used it like a personal diary
^Gillman, Todd J.; Morton, Joseph (May 11, 2023)."Existing gun laws didn't stop Allen shooting; no consensus in Congress on what to try next".The Dallas Morning News.Archived from the original on May 11, 2023. RetrievedMay 11, 2023.'If the military knows that a man has mental issues to the extent that he's going to be denied continuing his training,' said Rep. Keith Self, a conservative, pro-gun rights freshman who represents Allen, 'that seems like sufficient reason for them to put it in the national database... That's exactly the kind of person we're trying to keep weapons out of the hands of.'... If Garcia passed a background check, Self said, it's because of a 'loophole' he intends to fix. 'We're not talking about a red flag law here,' he said. 'We're talking about the U.S. military that has made the determination that this man had significant mental health challenges.'
BODYCAM: Allen police release video showing officer who shot and killed shooter
