Six days have passed since a gunman opened fire at an outdoor mall in Allen, Texas. Eight people were killed. Seven were wounded.
Over 1,000 people found themselves at or near the mall when the shooting took place, many eventually being escorted away from the property by law enforcement and having to return later to retrieve their vehicles.
Here’s everything we know — and everything we don’t — about the attack:
Victims of the Allen mall shooting
What we know: Eight people were killed and seven others were wounded.
The eight were identified as Cho Kyu Song, 37; Kang Shin Young, 35; James Cho, 3; Daniela Mendoza, 11; Sofia Mendoza, 8; Christian LaCour, 20; Elio Cumana-Rivas, 32; and Aishwarya Thatikonda, 26.
Law enforcement Tuesday credited LaCour, a mall security guard, for escorting one person to safety before he was killed trying to help others.
What we don’t know: The names of the wounded victims have not been released by officials.
As of Wednesday morning, one patient is in critical condition, two are in fair condition and three are in good condition, according to Medical City Healthcare. It was unclear what hospital the final patient was being treated at or what their condition was.
Four of the people wounded have been identified as William Cho, 6; Sreyas Dadi, 26; Ilda Mendoza and Irvin Walker II, 46.
Walker II is in stable condition as of Tuesday following surgery and is expected to survive, according to a GoFundMe.
The Allen Premium Outlets mall
What we know: Allen Premium Outlets, a mall near Highway 75 about 35 miles north of Dallas, has been one of North Texas’ busiest shopping centers since 2000.
Over 1,000 people were at the outdoor mall of about 120 stores Saturday. Authorities said Tuesday about 1,100 vehicles at the mall have been returned to their owners.
Anyone who left personal belongings at the mall can retrieve them at the family assistance facility located at the Allen Senior Recreation Center, 451 St. Mary Drive. The center was open Tuesday and Wednesday and will be open Thursday and Friday as well.
The center will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday and 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Friday.
What we don’t know: It’s not clear when the mall will reopen, but managers in a recent email said it expects to remain closed until after all funeral services have been held for the shooting’s eight victims, according to WFAA.
Several area memorial services take place next week, and it is unclear when final services would be held.
The company has listed the mall closed until Thursday, May 18 on its website; however, retailers have been allowed back into their stores, which were evacuated quickly Saturday.
“We are horrified by the senseless tragedy at the Allen Premium Outlets and are outraged by the violence that continues to plague our country,” the website’s updated header reads.
The gunman at the Allen mall
What we know: The shooter, who was killed at the scene by an Allen police officer, was identified as 33-year-old Mauricio Garcia.
He was terminated from the U.S. Army in 2008 and did not complete initial training, officials said, but was not on law enforcement radar before the shooting. Social media posts, apparently linked to the shooter, espoused an obsession with violence and extremist ideology.
Officials said Tuesday the gunman had an expired private security license and worked at multiple private security firms. They also confirmed Tuesday the shooter had neo-Nazi ideation.
What we don’t know: Officials said Tuesday they have not determined the gunman’s motive, which is the focus of the investigation. An official said, to his knowledge, that investigators hadn’t found a manifesto and are analyzing the gunman’s cellphone and computer.
Search warrants were carried out at two locations, which sources previously told The News were a Budget Suites hotel and a home in northeast Dallas.
The attack at the Allen mall
What we know: The attack lasted 3-4 minutes, from the time a nearby Allen police officer heard gunshots to the time the officer killed the suspect.
Video footage taken from an in-car dashboard camera shows the gunman exiting a vehicle in the parking lot of the mall. Leaving the driver door open, the gunman began shooting at shoppers in view.
The gunman brought eight weapons to the scene, and all of them were purchased legally, officials said Tuesday. Authorities found three weapons on the gunman and five in his vehicle.
Authorities have released little information on the investigation. On Tuesday, during the first news conference held since Saturday, just six questions, which spanned about three minutes, were taken by officials.
What we don’t know: It is unclear if the attack was targeted. At a news conference Tuesday, Hank Sibley, the Texas Department of Public Safety’s North Texas regional director said he believes the gunman honed in on the location, rather than a specific group of people.
However, half of the victims killed in Saturday’s shooting were of Asian descent, which raised concerns over whether or not the attack was targeting members of the Asian community.
Allen has an overall population that is 61.4% White, 19.2% Asian, 9.6% Black or African American and 11.2% Hispanic or Latino, according to 2022 census data.
Additionally, authorities have not released the identity of the police officer who took down the shooter. Sibley said the officer “undoubtedly saved countless lives.”
Texas Legislature
What we know: A bill in the Texas Legislature, which would raise the minimum age to buy most AR-style rifles from 18 to 21, was advanced by a House committee on Monday. The bill was advanced on the deadline to pass bills out of House committees and after pressure from parents of children who died in the Uvalde school massacre.
The bill, HB 2744, died in the Republican-controlled legislature two days after it advanced out of the House Select Committee on Community Safety.
The gunman’s weapons
What we know: The gunman, Mauricio Garcia, posted photographs of a Glock 48 semi-automatic handgun and a Benelli M4 semi-automatic shotgun as well as multiple boxes of ammunition.
His apparent posts on a Russian social media platform showed his desire to buy certain guns, including an AK-47-style assault rifle.
An owner for an Arizona-based body armor manufacturer, Spartan Armor System, told The News that Garcia purchased several items in 2020 including a steel armored plate. The gunman posted a photo of the sales receipt, which indicates his order included “trauma pads” and “side plates.”
Garcia also bought items at GT distributors, a gun and tactical gear store in northeast Dallas, and he ordered a rare rifle and two handguns from a Garland gun store. The owner of the store, Targetmaster, said the guns were on back order and difficult to get and after two years of waiting, Garcia requested the return of his deposit.
What we don’t know: While we have evidence of the type of guns Garcia had purchased, authorities have not identified those used in the shooting or how he acquired them — whether he bought them online, at a gun show or from a licensed firearms dealer.
Staff writer Noor Adatia contributed to this report.
