Investigators in Texas are gazing into possible neo-Nazi and white supremacist faith of the gunman who killed eight in the mass hit at a shopping mall in Allen.
Mauricio Garcia, 33, was spotted as the shooter who guiltless to the Allen Premium Outlets on Saturday afternoon and opened fire on guiltless shoppers with an AR-15-style rifle.
Eight people, including three family members, died in the charge before the gunman was shot dead by a law imposition officer.
The motive for the attack remainder unknown, but the gunman was exhausting a patch reading “RWDS” – status for Right Wing Death Squad – as he carried out the rampage.
Gunman Opens Fire at Texas Mall, Leaving Eight Dead
Police sources told NBC News that Garcia – an Army veteran who worked as a security guard – posted neo-Nazi and white supremacist content online.
As details about the gunman emerge, the victims start to be recognized.
Christian LaCour, a 20-year-old security protect at the mall, Aishwarya Thatikonda, an engineer who was shopping at the time, parents Cindy and Kyu Cho, and their three-year-old James were among the victims.
According to reports, James Cho died next to his parents Cho Kyu Song, 37, and Kang Shin Young, 35. His six-year-old brother was injured but survived.
The identifications come as officials probe whether the killer had links to any far-right organizations or beliefs.
Several victims endure in hospital.
A substantiate GoFundMe page says that the Cho family were at the Allen Premium Outlets mall on Saturday to trade clothing their 6-year-old son had obtained as a birthday gift a few days before.
“An afternoon that should have been packed with light, love and celebration, unfortunately, was cut tiny by another mass hit massacre,” friends of the family wrote on the page.
Korean ministry officials in Texas told the Dallas Morning News newspaper that the Cho family were American citizens of Korean drop and that envoys were in contact with their family members.
Primary school pupils Daniela and Sofia Mendoza, sisters, were also killed. According to CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, their mother, Ida, remains in critical condition.
Aishwarya Thatikonda, a 27-year-old engineer from India, was also killed during a overtake to the mall with a friend and security guard Christian LaCour, 20.
Six people died at the scene in the north Dallas suburbs, while two died later in hospital.
The 33-year-old guest was shot dead by a police officer responding to an unrelated call, ending the attack.
Investigators are now reviewing social media to investigate the killer’s beliefs, reports CBS.
During the attack, the rifle-wielding attacker wore a symbol associated with hate groups and combat tactical gear.
An account run by the surmise on a Russia-based social network seen by BBC News covers pictures of Nazi swastikas and SS tattoos, other posts glorifying Nazis, and rambling messages about violence.
He also affixed pictures from previous visits to the outlet mall, as recently as mid-April.
According to the US defence department, the suspect entered the US Army in June 2008 and was “ending three months later without completing initial entry training” due to “physical or mental conditions”.
He reportedly worked as a security guard during the shooting and had no critical criminal record. Officials have searched his parent’s home and a nearby extended-stay motel where he had recently lived.
HOW MANY VICTIMS ARE THERE? Seven people, counting the shooter, died at the scene, Allen Fire Chief Jonathan Boyd said. Nine victims were taken by ambulance to trauma centres. Two of those victims died after coming to hospitals, killing eight victims as of Saturday night. Three surviving victims were in critical condition, while four were stable Saturday night.
Parents and Young Child Among Victims of Mall Shooting
Three members of a Korean American family were among the dead, the Yonhap News Agency reported. A couple and their 3-year-old son were shot dead, and another couple’s children were shot and treated at a hospital. The adults were Cho Kyu Song, 37, and Kang Shin Young, 35, The Dallas Morning News reported.
LaCour’s grandmother also wrote a tribute on Facebook, saying Christian was “a beautiful soul, 20 years old with goals for his future. I was so proud of him and glad I saw him two weeks ago.”
On Sunday, Allen police said four victims were at the Medical City McKinney hospital, one in fair condition and three in critical condition. Two more victims were in satisfactory condition at Medical City Plano and Medical City Children’s Hospital. A seventh patient was being treated at an undisclosed location with no update on that person’s situation.
