Texas mall shooter had neo-Nazi views
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US Federal agents are currently investigating the digital history of the Texas mall shooter, Mauricio Garcia.
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Shoppers leave as law enforcement members respond to a shooting at the Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso Texas on February 15, 2023. (Reuters)
According to the Associated Press, US federal investigators are looking into whether the shooter who murdered eight people at an Allen, Texas mall was interested in white supremacist ideology as they strive to look for a motive behind the incident.
The suspected shooter has been named Mauricio Garcia by NBC News and CNN. According to one source person, who could not disclose aspects of the investigation publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, federal investigators have been scrutinizing social media accounts they believe he used and posts that suggested interest in white supremacist and neo-Nazi ideologies.
Garcia also wore a patch on his breast that said "RWDS," an abbreviation for the term "Right Wing Death Squad," which is popular among right-wing extremists and white supremacist groups, according to the official.
According to CNN, an AR-15-style assault rifle and another weapon were discovered near Garcia's body. CNN said that he had received guns competence training as part of his position as a "commissioned" security guard.
Garcia was permitted to serve as a security guard for four years beginning in April 2016, according to the network, and had previously worked for three other organizations.
Texas Republican US Senator Ted Cruz's Saturday statement that he and his wife were "praying for the families of the victims" sparked outrage, with many insisting that he should work for significant gun safety legislation.
Shannon Watts, a founder of gun safety group Moms Demand Action, Tweeted in response, "YOU helped arm him with guns, ammo and tactical gear. He did exactly what you knew he’d do. Spare us your prayers and talk of justice for a gunman who is … dead”.
YOU helped arm him with guns, ammo and tactical gear. He did exactly what you knew he’d do. Spare us your prayers and talk of justice for a gunman who is fucking dead. The only accountability we can hope for is that gun extremists like you are thrown into the ash heap of history. https://t.co/YK515dm1d8
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) May 7, 2023
Texas Governor Greg Abbott described the mass shooting as an "unspeakable tragedy."
US President Joe Biden called on Congress Saturday to establish a ban on the purchase and use of weapons, urging lawmakers to help end the gun "epidemic" that has plagued the US.
Despite the bleak warnings accompanied by the many mass shootings, the #US is still plunged in the #gunviolence epidemic, and it doesn't seem that it will stop any time soon. pic.twitter.com/8VSQMpWGOd
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) February 22, 2023
The number of US children and teens killed by gunfire witnessed a drastic increase between 2019 and 2021, a publication by Pew Research Center revealed.
Last June, Biden pleaded for lawmakers to pass stricter gun control laws, including a ban on assault weapons, in a bid to clamp down on unprecedented levels of mass shootings across the United States that have been turning American communities into "killing fields".
"How much more carnage are we willing to accept?" he stressed. "We can't fail the American people again."
