by DALLAS (AP) — The gunman who killed at least eight people and wounded half a dozen more at a Dallas-area shopping center was a 33-year-old suspected neo-Nazi sympathizer named Mauricio Garcia, two top law enforcement officials said Sunday. obey the law.
Garcia was killed Saturday by a police officer who was at the Allen Premium Outlets, about 25 miles north of Dallas, police said.
The attacker, who lived in Dallas, was armed with an “AR-15-style assault weapon,” President Joe Biden said.
He was wearing a tactical vest and also had a handgun, one of the senior law enforcement officials said.
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More weapons and ammunition were found in his car, the source said. He was wearing a patch on his chest with a right-wing acronym at the time of the massacre.
A preliminary review of what is believed to be the shooter’s social media accounts reveals hundreds of posts that include racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist rhetoric, including neo-Nazi material and white supremacist material, two senior law enforcement officials said. obey the law.
Officials stressed that the investigation is ongoing. The preliminary review found that the gunman’s social media posts were not shared by other users.
Police and the Texas Rangers, working with the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, are investigating the shooting as a case of racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism, two senior law enforcement officials said. the law.
Authorities believe the shooter acted alone, one of the officials said. Investigators are interviewing his family and friends.
It was the second deadliest mass shooting in the United States this year and the second in Texas in just over a week.
A neighbor of the suspect, who asked to be identified only as Julie, said she would see Garcia commuting to and from work every day like clockwork.
“He tried to say hello to us, but he seemed a little out of place,” Julie said. “He wasn’t someone you could hold a conversation with.”
Julie said she was stunned when she learned the identity of the suspect.
“You could have struck me down with a feather when I found out,” he said.
Another neighbor, Gilda Bailey, said there were three police cars parked outside her house when she arrived. She said that she would not let the suspect’s family members into the residence and that she later saw the FBI removing items from Garcia’s home.
“I don’t understand what caused it,” Bailey said.
Another neighbor said that living so close to a suspected mass murderer was “chilling.”
“Just the idea of living a few houses away from someone who can do this can be a little scary and make you more cautious,” said Moises Carreón, 52. “I don’t know why people want to shoot innocent people for whatever reason. .”
Deon J. Hampton reported from Dallas. Jonathan Dienst and Corky Siemaszko reported from New York, and Ken Dilanian reported from Washington.
