Gunman who killed eight at Texas mall identified as Mauricio Garcia – live

The gunman who murdered eight people at a Texas mall on Saturday has been identified as 33-year-old Mauricio Garcia, according to reports.

The suspect was shot dead by a police officer who was responding to an unrelated call, the Allen Police Department said.

Garcia, dressed in black body armour and armed with an AR-15-style assault rifle, opened fire moments after arriving at the Allen Premium Outlets at around 3.30pm on Saturday, law enforcement sources told NBC News. CBS News, CNN and other local media also confirmed the gunman’s identity.

The Independent’s Bevan Hurley reports:

Audio released on Sunday reveals the moment a heroic officer frantically requested backup before neutralising the Texas mall gunman.

The violence broke out at around 3.36pm CDT and a police officer who was already at the mall responding to another situation heard gunshots and “engaged the suspect and neutralized the threat,” Allen police chief Brian Harvey told reporters.

Witnesses told WFAA that gunman Mauricio Garcia, who police say they believe acted alone, was dressed in black.

Helicopter video also showed a silver car in the street in front of stores with its doors open and riddled with bullet holes.

A Collin County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson told WFAA that there are multiple victims, including children.

In a video posted to Twitter people could be seen running through a car park with the sound of loud gunshots heard in the background.

Senator Roland Gutierrez, who serves the district where 19 students and two teachers were killed during a mass shooting last year, has said he “is done” with the thoughts and prayers offered by Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Lt Governor Dan Patrick every time a mass shooting unfolds in the Lone Star State.

“There is a special kind of hell for people who have this kind of problem staring them square in the face and have done nothing about it,” Mr Gutierrez told MSNBC. “I don’t care about their thoughts and prayers. I witnessed eight of nineteen funerals a year ago. I spent hundreds of hours looking at bodycam footage because I needed to see how our cops failed. I saw babies mutilated with AR-15.”

He added: “This Governor and this Lt Governor, I’m sorry but they can go to hell. I am tired of people saying this stuff and doing nothing.”

Medical City Healthcare, a Dallas-area hospital system, said in a written statement it was treating eight people between the ages of five and 61.

Seven people, including the shooter, died near the mall, while two died on their way to the hospital on Saturday.

“Nine victims were transported to local hospitals by Allen Fire Department,” police said.

Three people injured are reported to be critically injured while others are stable in the hospital receiving medical treatment.

Eight people have been killed and ‘at least’ a further nine injured following a shooting at a mall in Dallas, Texas.

The suspect, who is thought to have acted alone, was also shot dead by a nearby police officer.

It’s thought he opened fire at Allen Premium Outlets yesterday afternoon (6 May) using an AR-15-style gun, forcing shoppers to run and hide.

Medics claim they have been treating victims as young as five.

The suspect was shot dead by a police officer who was responding to an unrelated call, police said.

He has been identified by law enforcement sources as 33-year-old Mauricio Garcia, according to NBC News.

Hundreds of shoppers fled from Allen Premium Outlets, a large outdoor shopping centre, after gunfire erupted at about 3.30pm local time on Saturday.

Seven people, including the gunman, were pronounced dead at the scene, and two more died after being taken to hospital, the Allen Police Department said.

Here’s what we know so far about the shooting:

Hundreds of terrified shoppers fled in panic after a gunman stepped out of a silver sedan and opened fire at a Dallas-area outlet mall, killing eight and wounding seven before being killed by a police officer who happened to be nearby, authorities said.

The shooting in Allen, Texas, on Saturday was the latest eruption of what has been an unprecedented pace of mass killings in the U.S. Barely a week before, authorities say, a man fatally shot five people in Cleveland, Texas, after a neighbor asked him to stop firing his weapon while a baby slept.

Police did not immediately provide details about the victims at Allen Premium Outlets, a sprawling outdoor shopping center, but witnesses reported seeing children among them. Some said they also saw what appeared to be a police officer and a mall security guard unconscious on the ground.

A 16-year-old pretzel stand employee, Maxwell Gum, described a virtual stampede of shoppers. He and others sheltered in a storage room.

“We started running. Kids were getting trampled,” Gum said. “My co-worker picked up a 4-year-old girl and gave her to her parents.”