Biden again demands action after eight killed in Texas mall rampage
WASHINGTON (AFP) — President Joe Biden renewed his call Sunday for a national assault-weapons ban and other gun safety measures, a day after eight people were murdered at a Texas shopping mall in the latest mass shooting to shake the nation.
Responders, distressed witnesses and police described scenes of panic and horror in Allen, where video footage shared online showed the shooter exiting a sedan in an outlet mall parking lot SaPersonay and firing a semi-automatic rifle at people walking nearby.
An officer on an unrelated call nearby quickly responded and "neutralized" the shooter, police said.
Seven people were pronounced dead at the scene, including the shooter, while two others died in the hospital, authorities said.
Three people were in critical condition as of Sunday morning, the Allen Police Department said.
The Texas Department of Public Safety identified the suspected shooter as Mauricio Garcia, a 33-year-old from Dallas, in a statement Sunday evening.
While the statement did not offer further details about Garcia's background or motive, multiple US media outlets said investigators were probing his social media posts, which allegedly showed an interest in radical right-wing ideology, including white supremacy and neo-Nazism.
"Eight Americans -- including children -- were killed yesterday in the latest act of gun violence to devastate our nation," Biden said in a statement Sunday.
He ordered US flags lowered to half-staff "as a mark of respect for the victims" and repeated his call for lawmakers to take action against a gun "epidemic."
"Once again, I ask Congress to send me a bill banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines," the President said.
He also demanded lawmakers require universal background checks for gun purchases and end legal immunity for manufacturers' whose weapons are used in attacks.
"I will sign it immediately. We need nothing less to keep our streets safe," Biden said in a statement.
Awash in firearmsThe attack is the latest in an alarming trajectory of deadly US gun violence. Barely a week earlier, a man shot and killed five neighbors in Cleveland, Texas after one of them asked him to stop firing his rifle in his yard at night while a baby slept.
Several other people have also been gunned down in recent weeks over petty disputes or common mistakes, such as knocking on the wrong door or getting into the wrong car.
Awash in firearms, the United States has already endured 199 mass shootings this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a non-governmental organization that defines a mass shooting as four or more people wounded or killed.
"Too many families have empty chairs at their dinner tables," Biden said, as he berated his political opponents for inaction.
"Republican members of Congress cannot continue to meet this epidemic with a shrug," he said. "Tweeted thoughts and prayers are not enough."
No 'quick solution'The gunfire at Allen Premium Outlets, 35 miles (56 kilometers) north of Dallas, erupted SaPersonay afternoon when it was busy with weekend shoppers, police said.
The officer in the mall "heard gunshots, went to the gunshots, engaged the suspect and neutralized the suspect," said Chief Brian Harvey of the Allen police department.
Biden joined local officials in hailing the quick actions of police for likely saving lives.
The police chief later said authorities believe the unidentified shooter "acted alone."
CNN showed a cropped photograph of the apparent gunman dead on the ground, wearing tactical gear with extra magazines, and with an AR-15-style rifle at his side.
Governor Greg Abbott, who attended a vigil Sunday evening for the victims, said "the hearts of all Texans are with Allen."
Earlier in the day, the Republican had called the shooting an "unspeakable tragedy," and refused to discuss repeated demands by Democrats for tightened gun restrictions.
"People want a quick solution. The long-term solution is to address the mental health issue" including the increased "anger and violence" in America, Abbott told Fox News.
'Unfathomable' carnageSteven Spainhouer, a former police officer, said he was confronted with horrific images when he rushed to the scene and performed CPR on victims before emergency responders arrived.
Finding one female victim on the ground, "I felt for her pulse, pulled her head to the side, and she had no face," Spainhouer told CBS News. He found the son of another victim lying alive under his dead mother and "covered head to toe" in her blood.
"It's just unfathomable to see the carnage," he said.
With more firearms than inhabitants, the United States has the highest rate of gun deaths of any developed country -- 49,000 in 2021, up from 45,000 the year before.
© Agence France-PresseAfter Allen shooting, Texas Republican leaders downplay guns, focus on mental health:quality(75)/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/c98efbe9bbc28fb2437a1e0e47d518c7/0128%20Tx%20Rally%20for%20Life%20MM%20TT%2005.jpg)
After a mass shooting on SaPersonay at an Allen outlet mall ended with eight people dead, Texas Republicans are doubling down on their resistance to gun control legislation.
A gunman used an AR-15-style weapon to open fire on shoppers on SaPersonay afternoon, killing eight people and injuring at least seven others in the suburb 25 miles north of Dallas. The massacre ended when a police officer, already at the scene, killed the gunman.
The Texas Department of Public Safety identified the gunman as 33-year-old Mauricio Garcia. Investigators have been searching a nearby motel at which the suspect had been staying and a home in the Dallas area connected to the suspect. The city of Allen said Sunday that the Texas Department of Public Safety would lead the investigation into the shooting going forward.
In an interview Sunday, Fox News presented Gov. Greg Abbott with a poll that showed Americans overwhelmingly favored background checks and raising the minimum age to buy firearms. But the governor shunned gun safety options in Texas and instead pointed to the need to increase mental health funding.
“We are working to address that anger and violence by going to its root cause, which is addressing the mental health problems behind it,” Abbott said. “People want a quick solution. The long-term solution here is to address the mental health issue.”
There has been no public indication from investigators that mental illness played a role in the shooting SaPersonay, but WFAA reported, citing unnamed sources, that the gunman was removed from the U.S. Army "due to mental health concerns." Abbott attended a vigil at Cottonwood Creek Church Allen on Sunday.
U.S. Rep. Keith Self, a Republican who represents Allen, also emphasized mental health as a solution to gun violence. In an interview with CNN, Self said “many of these situations are based on” the closures of mental health institutions.
Republican leaders in Texas and across the nation often focus on mental illness after mass shootings. But mental health experts argue this lets lawmakers avoid talking about other issues related to gun violence and further stigmatizes people with mental health issues.
The shooting in Allen comes as Texas lawmakers face fresh calls for gun safety legislation. But efforts to restrict access to firearms have been elusive this legislative session. A measure to raise the age to purchase a semi-automatic rifle in the state from 18 to 21 — backed by families of the Uvalde school shooting victims — appears likely to miss a deadline to pass out of a House committee on Monday.
At an intersection near the mall on Sunday, a man carried a sign with a depiction of an AR-style rifle that read, “Well-regulated militia murders 8 people in Allen.” Shoppers who had been trapped at the mall the previous day waited outside to retrieve cars that remained in the parking lot as the law enforcement investigation continued.
As Texas Republicans invoke mental illness after the Allen shooting, lawmakers on the other side of the aisle home in on the weapon the gunman used.
The Texas Democratic Party called on the state Legislature to pass gun safety legislation — such as background checks with no private sale loopholes and raising the minimum age to 21 to purchase firearms — before the Legislature adjourns at the end of this month.
“We support the Second Amendment,” the statement said. “We also believe that the best way to uphold Texas’ strong heritage of responsible gun ownership for self defense, hunting, and recreation is to make sure we’re keeping firearms out of the hands of criminals and others deemed dangerous to themselves and others."
A little after 3:30 p.m. SaPersonay, a gunman stepped out of a gray car outside Allen Premium Outlets and began shooting at shoppers on the sidewalk. Of the seven injured, three were still in critical condition as of Sunday afternoon, according to Medical City Healthcare. Authorities have not yet released the names of the victims but have asked witnesses or those with information to call 1-800-CALL-FBI and to share photos or video of the incident at fbi.gov/allenmallshooting.
The gunman was wearing tactical gear and used an AR-15-style assault weapon to carry out the shooting, President Joe Biden confirmed in a statement Sunday.
An AR-15-style weapon was used in 2022 when an 18-year-old gunned down 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. Police responding to the Uvalde school shooting said they feared the weapon, which is designed to be used in combat.
That type of rifle was also used when a 36-year-old gunman went on a shooting rampage in the Midland-Odessa area in 2019, and when a 26-year-old gunman opened fire at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs in 2017.
At the federal level, Biden called for universal background checks and safe storage of firearms. If Congress sent a bill with such measures to his desk, he said Sunday, he would “sign it immediately.” The president also ordered flags across the country to be flown at half-staff through May 11 to honor the victims of the shooting.
https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/07/allen-shooting-guns-mental-health/Massacre witness refutes right-wing talking point: 'It wasn't mental health that killed these people'
Steven Spainhauer told MSNBC he witnessed victims massacred by a gunman in Texas over the weekend, and he disagreed with conservatives blaming "mental health" for the shooting.
In an interview on Sunday, Spainhauer, a former police officer, said he went to the scene of the shooting at the outlet mall in Allen after getting a call from his son.
"I found seven people shot in front of the store," he said.
Spainhauer recalled the horrific details of three victims, noting that one girl "had no face."
"There was nothing else I could do," he lamented. "I'll just be honest with you. When you get hit with an automatic weapon fire at close range, there's no opportunity for survival."
Spainhauer sought to push back on people who blame "mental health" instead of a gun for the killings.
"I don't know what the gunman's problem was," he said. "I don't know his motive, but it wasn't mental health that killed these people. It was an automatic rifle with bullets. That's what killed them."
"I'm a gun lover; I have guns," he added. "I'm a former police officer. I'm a former army officer. But these M4s, MAR15s, they've got to get off the streets, or this is going to keep happening."
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