Texas mall shooter's 8 weapons were legally obtained, authorities say, as motive remains unclear
Source: CNN
Editors Note: This story contains graphic descriptions of the shootings aftermath.
Allen, Texas CNN The weapons brought to the attack on random shoppers at the outlet mall in Allen, Texas, were all legally obtained, Texas Department of Public Safety Regional Director Hank Sibley told reporters at a Tuesday news conference. He said the gunman had eight weapons with him: three on his person and five in his vehicle.
Authorities have said gunman Mauricio Garcia, 33, started firing an AR-15-style rifle a weapon of choice among US mass shooters in the parking lot of Allen Premium Outlets before making his way through the complex as shoppers and employees ran for cover, authorities said.
An Allen police officer on a nearby call responded and fatally shot Garcia. Sibley said the massacre was over with the shooter down just three to four minutes after the horror began. Investigators are looking at the gunmans electronics and social media, trying to figure out what prompted the second-deadliest massacre in the United States this year.
The big question that were dealing with right now is whats his motive, why did he do this? Sibley said. Well, the big question is, we dont know. Thats what the investigation is trying to find out. Sibley said preliminary evidence shows the shooter targeted the mall, but not specific individuals.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/09/us/allen-texas-outlet-mall-shooting-tuesday/index.html
Article updated.
Original article/headline -
Editors Note: This story contains graphic descriptions of the shootings aftermath.
Allen, Texas CNN [Breaking news update, published at 3:24 p.m.]
The weapons used in the attack on the outlet mall in Allen, Texas, were all legally obtained, Texas Department of Public Safety Regional Director Hank Sibley told reporters at a Tuesday news conference.
He said the gunman had eight weapons with him: three on his person and five in his vehicle.
The big question that were dealing with right now is whats his motive, why did he do this? Sibley said. Well, the big question is, we dont know. Thats what the investigation is trying to find out.
IronLionZion
(50,154 posts)we can see that.
marble falls
(68,930 posts)Faux pas
(15,977 posts)Sorry but I don't believe anything anyone in public office in tex-ass says.
Chainfire
(17,757 posts)Motive is he was a hateful son of a bitch who took his personal failures out on others. There are thousands more just like him and every damn one of them will have at least one AR-15...
ProfessorGAC
(74,924 posts)He wanted to kill "others". How they were "other" is irrelevant.
lapfog_1
(31,347 posts)with the exception of the mall security guard, who he may have targeted because he was a threat.
Family from Korea, Indian woman, little girls with Latin names...
He clearly wanted to think he was part of the "master race" and probably resented everyone else.
especially more successful recent immigrants and/or visitors.
ProfessorGAC
(74,924 posts)He knew what "others" he wanted to hunt.
Traildogbob
(12,067 posts)Sick of these unclear headlines. It could not be any more clear. Full of hate
.bought all those guns and gear to take THAT hate out on others. Not for hunting, not for defense, not for recreational fun at the range. He hated a Group of people and wanted them dead. End of story. Fuck Abbott. Many of us hate his useless ass, but will not go after him like these Nazis release their rage.
American terrorist need to be treated like all other terrorist.
TexasDem69
(2,317 posts)Aristus
(71,162 posts)I guess that makes it all right then; God-given gun rights and all...
louis-t
(24,506 posts)"They must have bought the guns illegally."
PSPS
(15,047 posts)There have been hundreds more since this was published:

Grins
(8,990 posts)I know Public Safety has to find the answer to those questions, but it doesnt matter how and why. What matters is he amassed and used guns to massacre people he didnt know. It is the guns that are the problem for Public Safety; deal with it!
Initech
(106,634 posts)That's the commonality in all of this - they were obtained legally. I will never understand a country that values the weapons more than the victims of said weapons. Fucking madness.
pwb
(12,389 posts)That means he paid for them or inherited them? Lots of Older widows end up with hubby's guns that end up with family. Possession of them after Granny goes is known only by God.
catrose
(5,312 posts)Never had a doubt, myself
GreenWave
(11,825 posts)moniss
(8,232 posts)almost anything you want by private sale and you avoid the background checks etc. We should have done with guns what we have with vehicles. Title each one so the purchases can be tracked and require training and insurance in order to use it. Along with requiring a background check before any purchase or transfer. It would be helpful if they would require disclosure of all family members where the weapon is kept. There are more common sense things that can be done to cut down on these shootings but none of them will pass in the GQP states or at the Federal level.
These same kinds of clowns are what fuels "Knife Shows" that are usually on a similar track as the gun shows. So you end up with "Goober with a grudge" stocking his basement with assault weapons and dozens of knives and swords.
tanyev
(48,133 posts)Last edited Tue May 9, 2023, 06:51 PM - Edit history (1)
something that is not very common here in North Texas, so that may have played a role in why he picked it.
It still seems odd to me that he would pick Allen, TX to target non-whites. Allen is predominately white and theres no guarantee what the racial make-up would be at that mall on any given day.
Unless he spent some time casing potential targets. And its very possible he did that. Sick, sick sick.
yardwork
(68,389 posts)It looks like many of his victims were Asian.
tanyev
(48,133 posts)but the area is not known to be an Asian or Hispanic area like other parts of the Metroplex are. And theres no indication so far that the shooter was familiar with Allen. His parents house and the residence hotel where he lived are in the north part of Dallas, quite a ways from where the shooting happened.
IronLionZion
(50,154 posts)When I google mapped it, I noticed they have enough Indians for a Hindu temple.
The tremendous diversity of America can surprise even liberal DUers, but it enrages MAGAts, Nazis, and other low-lifes.
BumRushDaShow
(162,153 posts)particularly seeing the areal view of it and how sprawling it was - basically a (geometrically) cobbled-together strip mall.
hatrack
(63,819 posts)f_townsend
(260 posts)SouthernDem4ever
(6,619 posts)Pretty soon AR15s will be available in the toy sections of Texas Walmarts.
They_Live
(3,369 posts)and nothing being done to stop them.
WcoastO
(55 posts)In Texas, anybody carrying a gun is, by law, considered a good guy w a gun. In Texas, anybody that buys a gun from a store is, by law, considered to be a good guy w a gun. Until........
The US has an estimated 400,000,000-450,000,000 gun in circulation. If an armed society is a polite society, how many more are necessary for the US to be a polite society?