Law enforcement officials have identified the gunman who killed eight, including children, at the Allen, Texas, outlet mall Saturday.
Mauricio Garcia, 33, was staying at a nearby motel, having recently left living at his northeast Dallas parent's home, according to reports.
Three law enforcement officials who spoke to The Associated Press named the gunman as Garcia, who was fatally shot by a police officer who happened to be near the suburban Dallas mall. That officer, hailed as a hero that saved countless lives, heard the shots, rushed to the scene, and killed Garcia, police said Saturday night.
Dash cam video shared on Twitter showed Garcia pull up to the Allen Premium Outlets in his gray Dodge Charger, getting out and opening fire on mall goers. Garcia wore a tactical vest and was armed with a AR-15-style rifle and a handgun, according to one senior law enforcement official.
A police officer at the mall attending to a different call heard the shots.
There were six killed at the scene and two more died at the hospital. There are seven hospitalized with injuries from the ages 5 to 61, according to reports.
Garcia had been staying at extended-stay motel near the outlets mall after leaving his parent's home recently.
Sources told WFAA-8 in Dallas that Garcia's parents had requested a translator in speaking with Dallas police investigators.
Notably, Dallas Police Department computers had been hit by a ransomware attack, complicating the investigation of Garcia, including potential past police calls to the parent's home, WFAA reported.
Police did not immediately provide details about the victims at Allen Premium Outlets, a sprawling outdoor shopping center, but witnesses reported seeing children among them. Some said they also saw what appeared to be a police officer and a mall security guard unconscious on the ground.
A 16-year-old pretzel stand employee, Maxwell Gum, described a virtual stampede of shoppers. He and others sheltered in a storage room.
"We started running. Kids were getting trampled," Gum said. "My co-worker picked up a 4-year-old girl and gave her to her parents."
Dashcam video circulating online showed the gunman getting out of a car and shooting at people on the sidewalk. More than three dozen shots could be heard as the vehicle that was recording the video drove off. Allen Fire Chief Jonathan Boyd said seven people, including the shooter, died at the scene.
Two other people died at hospitals. Seven people remained hospitalized Sunday — three in critical condition and four in fair condition, the Allen Police Department said in a statement.
An Allen police officer was in the area on an unrelated call when he heard shots at 3:36 p.m., the department wrote on Facebook.
"The officer engaged the suspect and neutralized the threat; he then called for emergency personnel," the post said.
Information from AP was used to compile this report.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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