Identity of Allen, Texas shooting suspect revealed 2:31
(WABNEWS Spanish) — Mauricio Garcia, 33, was identified as the suspect in perpetrating a mass shooting this weekend at a mall in Allen, Texas, which left 8 dead and 7 injured, according to a police source. Garcia, who authorities believe acted alone, also died after being shot by a police officer.
Who is Mauricio Garcia?
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Garcia received firearms training as a security guard Active shooter reported at a mall in Dallas, Texas 0:30
Garcia underwent firearms proficiency training for his job as a commissioned security agent, according to Texas Online Private Security, a Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) database.
Garcia was approved to work as a security guard in Texas from April 2016 to April 2020, when his license expired, according to the database. His profile shows that he worked for at least three security companies. Neither of those companies immediately responded to requests for comment.
According to the database, Garcia received Level II and Level III security training. The first covers safety laws in Texas; the latter, which is required for all commissioned security guards and personal protection agents in Texas, includes firearms training and the demonstration of firearms proficiency, according to Jonah Nathan, vice president of the Ranger Guard, a ranger service. security guard in Texas who is not affiliated with Garcia’s employers.
In 2018, Garcia also completed a separate firearms proficiency training course that requires 6 hours of continuing education, according to the Texas DPS database.
Private security guards in Texas undergo background checks and are disqualified if they have committed certain crimes such as assault, robbery, or sexual offenses, among others, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety website and state codes. They are also disqualified if they have been dishonorably discharged from the US military; having been declared incompetent by a court of law; or have been required to register as a sex offender. It is unknown why Garcia’s license expired.
He was carrying an AR-15 style weapon.
In addition to the AR-15-style weapon found near him, Garcia had at least one other weapon when he was fatally shot outside the mall, a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation told WABNEWS. Police also found multiple weapons in his car.
WABNEWS spoke to neighbors who saw the FBI and police at a home with an address that matches Garcia’s parents on Saturday night. They arrived there about an hour after the shooting and blocked the street for several hours, neighbors told WABNEWS’s Ed Lavandera.
Garcia had lived in some type of transitional housing, according to the police source. The Dallas Morning News reported that the suspect stayed at an extended-stay hotel in Dallas.
A quiet and reserved man, according to a neighbor
A neighbor of the suspect in Saturday’s shooting at a mall in Allen, Texas, described the man as calm and solitary.
Moisés Carreón, a neighbor of Mauricio García, told WABNEWS’s Ed Lavandera that García was reserved and didn’t say much to his neighbors.
Carreón said that García would sometimes walk up and down the block wearing a hoodie.
“I know nothing happened on our block, but it gives you the chills to know that the suspect lived a few houses away,” said Carreón, who also commented that García never showed signs of being someone who could be a suspect in a mass shooting.
With reporting by Yahya Abou-Ghazala, Bob Ortega, Curt Devine, Ed Lavandera, Elizabeth Wolfe, Sharif Paget, and Sara Smart.
