“Every recoverable victim was saved,” Dr. Kevin Hoffman, the medical director for the Allen Fire Department, said in the city of Allen’s statement on the report. “If it were not for the training police and fire personnel had, I don’t think we would have been as fortunate."
It’s important to note this is the fire department’s timeline specifically. There aren’t many mentions of the assailant, who police shot and killed on the scene, or the police response. Authorities have identified the gunman as 33-year-old Mauricio Garcia of Dallas, a former security guard who allegedly held white supremacist views.
The first line of the report stated “shots fired outside store” at 3:36 p.m. Five minutes later, two dispatch notes offered a frightening scenario that likely encapsulated the crisis nature of the shooting in its earliest moments. “Another shooter Sunglass Hut” is listed at 3:41 p.m. with “hostages in Bath and Body Works” stated only a few seconds later. The Sunglass Hut location was deemed clear shortly thereafter.
At 3:50 p.m. the report noted “active shooter is not accounted for,” and at 4:19 p.m. a caller reported “gunman in the Tommy Hilfiger.” In the hours immediately following the shooting on May 6 there were rumors and reports that more than one assailant was involved, although police declared the suspect had acted alone soon after the mall grounds had been cleared.
During a May 9 press conference with Allen Police, FBI and Texas DPS, it was announced that Garcia was shot by an Allen police officer who was already at the scene on an unrelated call “three to four minutes” after the shooting began.
According to the timeline, the first paramedic arrived on the scene at 3:43 p.m., seven minutes after shots were first reportedly fired. A second paramedic vehicle arrived one minute later. Also at 3:44 p.m. emergency personnel began describing the carnage witnessed in front of the mall’s shops, with consecutive dispatch notes reading “shot in the stomach H&M” and “New Balance shot/bleeding in lower back.”
Allen’s news release said, “Even before paramedics were able to reach the victims, police officers used tactical combat medical techniques to stop the victims’ bleeding.”20 minutes after the shooting began, a dispatch note said “still in a war zone.”
tweet this
At 3:50 p.m., “child shot in front of H&M” is stated right before dispatch notes that said “wife not breathing” and “not a controlled scene” were included. “The report from the police is that we have multiple upon multiple patients” is listed at the 3:51 mark.
As medics reached people with injuries at 3:57 p.m. updates from the scene appeared more frequently on the timeline, including details on the status of the victims using triage color coding. “I have 6 victims, 1 black, 4 red, and 1 green, we are going to try to take 2 out right now.” The National Institutes of Health states that black signifies a deceased patient, red signals an immediate need with severe injuries and green represents minor injuries.
That was just before perhaps the most chilling point of the entire nearly seven-hour timeline provided by Allen Fire Department when, 20 minutes after the shooting began, another dispatch note said “still in a war zone.”
There were medical emergencies not involving gunshot wounds reported, including a 3-year-old with a seizure and someone having “a panic attack or heart attack” along with reports of people hiding in dumpsters on mall property.
About 45 minutes after the shooting began and for the next few hours, Allen Fire Department’s focus was on ambulance traffic to and from local hospitals and the establishment of a unified command post and reunification efforts. The report also provided detailed information on the contributions of fire and EMS personnel from Allen, Fairview, Frisco, Lucas, McKinney, Plano, Princeton and Prosper.
In the introduction to the post-incident report, Allen fire Chief Jonathan Boyd said that details related to the ongoing investigations by the Texas Department of Public Safety and Texas Rangers were not included in the published timeline. Law enforcement personnel have not announced whether a motive for the attack has been uncovered. The last official update from authorities was on May 9, three days after the shooting.
Allen Premium Outlets reopened last week after more than three weeks. The property's owner says that a permanent memorial is being planned.
