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

Texas Gov Greg Abbott blamed a rising “anger” in American society as he responded to calls for action after a horrific mass shooting occurred at an outlet mall in his state Saturday evening.

The Republican governor was speaking on Fox News Sunday as he faced scorn and derision from critics online over a 2015 tweet urging residents in his state to buy more guns and overtake California in terms of rates of new gun ownership.

On Sunday, Mr Abbott pointed to the rise of mass-casualty attacks involving guns in both Republican- and Democrat-controlled states as evidence of a wider problem that he argued would not be fixed (or even stemmed) by tougher restrictions on guns.

“One thing that we can observe very easily and that there has been a dramatic increase in the amount of anger and violence that’s taking place in America,” he concluded.

A gunman killed eight people and wounded another seven in a mass shooting at an outlet mall in Texas, say authorities.

The gunman, who has been identified as 33-year-old Mauricio Garcia, was also shot and killed by police after the shocking incident unfolded at the Allen Premium Outlets in Allen, Texas, on Saturday afternoon.

Seven people died at the scene and two more were pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital, Allen Fire Department Chief Jonathan Boyd told reporters on Saturday night.

Three wounded victims were in critical condition, while four others were in stable condition, he said.

Medical City Healthcare spokesperson Janet St James, said their trauma facilities received eight patients between the age of 5 and 61 following the shooting.

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.