The gunman who killed eight people and wounded seven others at a suburban Dallas shopping mall had no prior criminal record but had “neo-Nazi ideation”, authorities said on Tuesday.
Investigators are still trying to determine why Mauricio Garcia opened fire on Saturday at the Allen Premium Outlets, Hank Sibley, the regional director of the Texas department of public safety, said at a news conference.
Garcia, 33, researched when the mall in Allen was busiest – Saturday afternoons – and posted photos on social media in mid-April of a store near where he ultimately started his attack, which ended with police killing him. Among the dead were two elementary school-age sisters, a couple and their three-year-old son, and a security guard.
An Associated Press review of online activity showed Garcia also betrayed a fascination with white supremacy and mass shootings, which he described as sport.
Photos Garcia posted showed large Nazi tattoos on his arm and torso, including a swastika and the SS lightning bolt logo of Hitler’s paramilitary forces.
The online statements have contributed to an emerging picture of Garcia. He was discharged from the US army in 2008 because of mental health issues and apparently had been working as a security guard, according to neighbors and an army official.
Aric Toler, director of training and research at the international research collective bellingcat.com, said he identified Garcia’s profile on the site OK.RU by searching for active accounts with his birthdate located in the US. The AP independently verified the account, which also featured an image of a traffic ticket with Garcia’s name and birthdate as well as paperwork from a motel where he stayed before the shooting.
Federal agents have also reviewed the online posts, according to a federal law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The official said Garcia had a patch on his chest when police killed him that read “RWDS”, an acronym for the phrase “Right Wing Death Squad”, popular among rightwing extremists and white supremacy groups.
Investigators have interviewed family members and associates of Garcia to ask about his ideological beliefs and are examining his financial records and other electronic media, the official said.
Garcia joined the army in 2008 but was terminated three months later without completing his initial training, spokesperson Heather J Hagan said.
According to an army official who spoke on condition of anonymity, he was kicked out due to mental health issues.
Garcia received an “uncharacterized” discharge, common for recruits who don’t make it through training or the first 180 days of their enlistment, according to a defense official who also spoke on condition of anonymity. That type of discharge, which is not dishonorable, would not set off red flags or require any reports to law enforcement.
On the Dallas block where Garcia lived until recently, neighbors said they thought he worked as a security guard. The company that manages the mall where the attack happened did not reply to messages seeking further information.
A woman who lives nextdoor said she did not know her neighbors well but described them as nice and polite. Garcia was always friendly, she said.
A law enforcement official said investigators had searched a motel where Garcia had been staying ahead of the attack.
Amid protests at the Texas capitol for stricter gun control, two Republicans sided with Democrats to advance a bill that would raise the age to buy semiautomatic rifles from 18 to 21, though the measure has little or no chance of becoming law.
The shooting was the latest attack to contribute to the unprecedented pace of mass killings this year in the US.