Texas mall shooter wore neo-Nazi symbol and shared 'white-supremacist content online'

The Republican War On America Continues…

The mall shooting marks the second time in less than 10 days that Texas has had a mass killing in which a gunman trained a powerful rifle on people. The staccato bursts of gun violence in America are increasing, according to some groups that track shootings, while public pleas by officials including President Biden to stem the bloodshed appear to have little effect.

The man who murdered eight people using an AR-15 at an outlet mall in Allen, Texas, Saturday likely identified with neo-Nazi beliefs, The Washington Post reports.

ALLEN, Tex. — The gunman who opened fire on an outlet mall in a Dallas suburb on Saturday, killing at least eight people, had an apparent fascination with white-supremacist or neo-Nazi beliefs that are now being examined by investigators as a possible motive for the attack, people familiar with the investigation said Sunday.

Mauricio Garcia, a 33-year-old Dallas resident, had multiple weapons on him and five additional guns in his car nearby, said people familiar with the investigation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing probe.

Authorities have not released a motive, but a patch on the shooter’s chest said “RWDS,” an initialism 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, and while there is still a great deal of evidence to analyze, and authorities have not reached any conclusions yet, investigators are approaching the shooting as a possible hate crime.

Witnesses said the gunman’s tactical vest was also packed with ammunition magazines, indicating just how much carnage he hoped to inflict at one of the most common places for Americans to gather on the weekends — a shopping mall. Panicked video from the scene showed adults running as fast as they could to get away from the crack of rifle fire, their shopping bags flapping around them as they sprinted across the parking lot. One young boy in a red T-shirt ran away while screaming “run,” a look of terror on his face.

At least one of the victims was a child, according to officials and witness accounts. A person wearing a security guard uniform was among the dead, according to several witnesses, but it was unclear whether the person was on duty at the time. A witness described finding a young boy alive under the corpse of his mother, who died protecting him.

The assailant was staying in a Dallas-area hotel at the time of the shooting, according to the people familiar with the investigation. Because the gunman is dead, a major focus of investigators is whether anyone knew what he planned to do or helped him in planning it. The gunman’s parents have been cooperating with authorities, these people said. Agents with the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are assisting with the investigation, according to officials.

Six victims were found dead at the scene, and nine people who had been injured were taken to hospitals by the local fire department, Allen Fire Chief Jon Boyd said Saturday. Two of them died at the hospital, police said.

Sherry Tutt was shopping at Victoria’s Secret on Saturday when she heard booming sounds. People started rushing into the store, she said, and someone yelled, “‘They’re shooting!’”

Tutt and her fiance hurried into a storage area with a few dozen other customers, hiding among boxes. She said panic spread when the group had trouble getting through to 911. One woman was crying.

After about an hour, police escorted the group out of the store, telling them that if they had kids, they should cover their eyes. As she passed Fatburger, Tutt glimpsed two bodies — a sight she described as “something I will never unsee.” Told it was now safe to leave, scores of shoppers walked with their arms raised past police officers.

Biden ordered flags flown at half-staff through Thursday in recognition of the shooting victims. In a statement, he expressed condolences for the victims and called on Republican members of Congress to support a bill banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, among other changes to gun laws.

“We need more action, faster to save lives,” he said. “Too many families have empty chairs at their dinner tables.”

On Monday, Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez and fellow Democrats plan to meet in Austin with relatives of victims of last year’s Uvalde school shooting to call for immediate action to address gun violence in Texas.

Democrats have proposed what Gutierrez calls “common-sense gun safety measures,” including a 30-day waiting period and increasing the age at which people can buy AR-15-style guns from 18 to 21, universal background checks, extreme risk protective orders, requiring safe gun storage, and banning the type of expanding bullets used in Uvalde.

Gutierrez said it wasn’t clear whether Republican state lawmakers would be moved to take action after the latest shooting. “I don’t know. We’ll find out tomorrow what the pulse is. My feeling is these people just want to pray their way out of this,” he said.

Texas has moved in recent years to loosen restrictions on firearms under Abbott’s leadership. In 2021, the state began allowing permitless carry, allowing residents to carry handguns in public without a license. The state “does not specifically put restrictions on who can carry a long gun such as a rifle or shotgun,” according to a Texas government website.

Weakened gun laws put Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on the defensive

Rep. Keith Self, a Republican congressman whose district includes Allen, told The Post that debating politics wasn’t appropriate in the aftermath of the shooting.

READ MORE: All extremist-related murders in 2022 were committed by right-wing radicals

Last year, an Anti-Defamation League's Center (ADLC) on Extremism report revealed "all extremist-related murders in 2022 were committed by right-wing extremists," adding, "More than four out of five extremist-related murders last year were committed by white supremacist right-wing extremists."

The report also noted "nearly all extremist-related mass killings were committed by right-wing extremists, and warns the number of those mass murders 'is of growing concern.'"

An official familiar with the matter told NBC not only did Garcia engage with neo-Nazi content online, but he also posted such content himself.

Regarding the issue of gun violence specifically pertaining to Texas, The Post reports:

In 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recorded 4,613 firearms-related deaths in Texas. The state's annual death toll from guns has increased steadily since 2014.

Led by Abbott, Texas has moved in recent years to loosen restrictions on firearms. In 2021, the state began allowing permitless carry so residents can carry handguns in public without a license. The state 'does not specifically put restrictions on who can carry a long gun such as a rifle or shotgun,' according to a Texas government website.

ADLC's report added the "main threat in the near future will likely be white supremacist shooters," noting, "The increase in the number of mass killing attempts, meanwhile, is one of the most alarming trends in recent years."

READ MORE: Robert Reich breaks down the Texas law that protects gun manufacturers from discrimination

Robert Reich is breaking down and criticizing the newly-enacted Texas state law that now prohibits companies from discriminating against gun manufacturers.

"A new Texas law went into effect that bans state agencies from working with any firm that 'discriminates' against companies or individuals in the gun industry," Reich wrote regarding the law passed in September 2021. "Texas’s new pro-gun industry law requires banks and other professional service firms submit written affirmations to the Texas attorney general that they comply with it."

Using J.P. Morgan Chase as an example, Reich noted how banking relationships with gun manufacturers changed significantly after the 2017 Parkland shooting. Chase was one banking institution to notably distance itself from gunmakers. But under Texas state law, such action is frowned upon and it puts companies a compromising position to face punishment.

"JPMorgan’s dilemma since Texas enacted its law has been particularly delicate because Jamie Dimon, its chairman and CEO, has been preaching the doctrine of corporate social responsibility: repeatedly telling the media that big banks like JPMorgan Chase have social duties to the communities they serve. (On Wednesday, Dimon dismissed claims that such an approach is 'woke.')"

Reich went on to note that even the largest banking institutions have been no match for a state like Texas. Instead of standing its ground, Chase, like many other companies, ultimately caved to the Lone Star state's law.

"So what did JPMorgan decide to do about financing gun manufacturers, in light of the new Texas law?" he asked before answering his own question.

"It caved to Texas," Reich wrote "(Never mind that last year, the bank’s board granted Dimon a special $52.6m award – which is almost three-quarters of the fees the bank received from underwriting Texas bonds between 2015 and 2020.)"

He broke down the key takeaways from the law.

"The lesson here is twofold," he wrote. "First, pay no attention to assertions by big banks or any other large corporations about their “social responsibilities” to their communities. When corporate social responsibility requires sacrificing profits, it magically disappears – even when it entails financing gunmakers.

"But secondly, no firm should be penalized by pro-gun states like Texas for trying to be socially responsible."

So, what could resolve this issue? According to Reich, big banking institutions like Chase should be forced to make an executive decision. "Big banks like JPMorgan should have to choose: either finance gunmakers and get access to the Texas bond market. Or don’t finance them and gain access to the even larger California bond market."