The man accused of killing eight people and wounding several others in a mass shooting at a suburban Dallas shopping mall researched when it was busiest and posted photos on social media in mid-Apr…
By JAKE BLEIBERG, GENE JOHNSON and LOLITA C. BALDOR (Associated Press)
DALLAS The man accused of killing eight people and wounding several others in a mass shooting at a suburban Dallas shopping mall researched when it was busiest and posted photos on social media in mid-April of a store near where he ultimately started his attack.
The posts by Mauricio Garcia, whom authorities have identified as the gunman, on a Russian social networking site suggest the 33-year-old had been planning the attack for weeks before he stepped out of a silver sedan and opened fire Saturday.
Garcia’s activity on the site also betrayed a fascination with white supremacy and mass shootings, which he described as sport. Photos he posted showed large Nazi tattoos on his arm and torso, including a swastika and the SS lightning bolt logo of Hitler’s paramilitary forces.
Other posts indicated he had researched to find out when the shopping center in one of the Dallas-area’s most diverse suburbs would be the busiest — Saturday afternoons, the time he ultimately chose to carry out the massacre.
The activity added to a picture that was emerging Monday of the gunman, who was discharged from the Army in 2008 because of mental health issues and apparently had been working as a security guard, according to neighbors and an Army official.
The attack in Allen ended when police shot and killed Garcia.
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 U.S. 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.
Garcia’s online profile has come under scrutiny by federal agents who are looking into what motivated the shooting, according to a federal law enforcement official who could not discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
The official also 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 right-wing extremists and white supremacy groups.
