The shooter who killed at least eight people and wounded at least seven more outside a shopping mall in Allen, Tex., may have had white supremacist or neo-Nazi beliefs, people familiar with the investigation said Sunday.
Garcia, a local resident, had been registered to vote in Texas since 2008, records show. He often wore a security guard uniform while leaving and returning home, according to his parents’ neighbors.
Here is what we know about him so far.
Who is the shooter?
At the time of the shooting, Garcia was living in a Dallas-area hotel, according to the people familiar with the investigation.
The gunman used to live with his parents in East Dallas, east of White Rock Lake, until a few months ago, according to his parents’ neighbors. They said law enforcement, including the FBI, swarmed the parents’ home Saturday evening, closing down part of the street and staying until the early morning hours of Sunday.
Several of the shooter’s neighbors described him as someone who kept to himself and didn’t seem to get into trouble. “He just seemed to be aloof, kind of disconnected. But he wasn’t threatening,” said Kevin Todd, who lives down the street.
The neighbors on the street where Garcia lived with his parents said they never knew his name but recognized him from the clothes he often wore, described as being a uniform for a security guard or law enforcement officer.
A next-door neighbor, who would give only her first name, Julie, said he was one of four children of a couple who had lived in the neighborhood for more than a decade.
“They’re good people,” Julie said. She and other neighbors said he appeared to have moved out of his parents’ house one or two months ago; Julie said she had seen him only once since then.
How many weapons did the gunman bring to the mall?
Garcia had multiple weapons on him and in his nearby car, said people familiar with the investigation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing probe.
The assailant used an AR-15-style weapon and was wearing tactical gear, President Biden said Sunday. In addition to the weapons found on his body, investigators found five additional guns inside his car nearby, said the people familiar with the investigation.
A video that could not immediately be verified by The Washington Post showed what appeared to be the gunman after he was fatally shot outside a burger restaurant, wearing black tactical gear with several magazines of ammunition on his chest. What appears to be an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle lies beside him. A pair of sunglasses with a lens missing is next to the body.
Colin Palakiko, a 36-year-old cook, was at the mall to do some shopping with his mother when the shooting began. After taking shelter in a shoe store for 45 minutes, Palakiko was led out by police. That is when he came upon what he thought was the body of the shooter — a person wearing a tactical vest that can carry several ammunition magazines.
Palakiko said he couldn’t believe how much ammunition the shooter had carried. “This guy was loaded,” he said. “No civilian person should be able to have access to that kind of ammunition. It’s insane.”
The Washington Post has not been able to confirm when and where the shooter bought his guns.
Did the shooter hold white supremacist or neo-Nazi beliefs?
Police have not commented on any possible motive for the shooting, but a patch on the gunman’s chest at the time of the shooting said “RWDS,” an abbreviation that stands for Right Wing Death Squad, according to people familiar with the investigation.
The phrase is popular among right-wing extremists, neo-Nazis and white supremacists, they said.
An initial examination of the shooter’s background showed no criminal history, investigators said.
On social media, many are commenting that a tattoo on the shooter’s right hand may be of significance to the investigation. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram noted the tattoo looks to be the symbol of the City of Dallas. The Post has not verified the tattoo or its significance.
Since the gunman is dead, a major focus of investigators is whether anyone knew what he planned to do or helped him do it.
Did the gunman serve in the military?
Heather J. Hagan, an Army spokesperson, said Garcia joined the Army in June 2008 but was “terminated” three months later, failing to complete his initial training.
Garcia was separated for an unspecified mental health issue, according to another Army official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of personnel records.
Although Army officials declined to specify why Garcia had been discharged, administrative separations like the one he received are meant to quickly force out recruits who can’t perform military duties as a result of various physical or behavioral conditions. They are not typically punishments and would not show up on background checks. Recruits who are administratively separated from the service before they finish training typically don’t receive military or veterans benefits.
Justin Moyer and Molly Hennessy-Fiske contributed to this report.
