In Allen, and throughout the rest of North Texas, May 6, 2023, was added to the horrific roll of mass shootings in the state: July 7, 2016, in Dallas when a gunman killed five police officers; May 22, 2018, in Santa Fe when eight students and two teachers died; and May 24, 2022, in Uvalde, where 19 elementary school children and two teachers were slain; as well as so many other now tragic dates in Texas and beyond. For many in each of these communities, life will forever be split into two eras: before the mass shooting ripped their community apart, and after.
Each of the eight killed in Allen, not to mention the many survivors, have stories that touched millions and put even more normal, everyday faces on the American problem that is the proliferation of mass shootings.
Kyu, Cindy and 3-year-old James Cho, a Plano family that left behind a 9-year-old son, along with sisters Daniela (11) and Sofia Mendoza (8) attracted much of the national media attention as May 2023 continued. Christian LaCour, the 20-year-old mall security guard many called a hero, as well as Aishwarya Thatikonda (27) and Elio Cumana-Rivas (32) were also killed by Garcia on May 6.
We quickly learned that the gunman held “neo-Nazi ideations,” according to investigators. After he had been shot and killed by an Allen officer who has remained anonymous to this day, Garcia was found wearing a RWDS (Right Wing Death Squad, an extreme far-right reference for violence against enemies) patch, and in later days, social media postings made by Garcia showed a clear hatred for Jews, women and racial minorities.
Even if we feel like we have some idea of why Garcia chose his victims, authorities have yet to officially determine his motives, and witnesses said he appeared to be firing indiscriminately. Still, other questions remain. Perhaps the biggest one, even after a year, is just how much worse could things have gotten had an Allen police officer not been on the grounds when shots were first fired? The sorrow over those who were lost is still there, but the appreciation for those who were also there that day and are still alive is also quite strong.
Flowers laid at the bottom of the memorial at the Allen Premium Outlets shortly after it was unveiled on May 6, 2024.
Jacob Vaughn
Two months after May 6, Allen police released bodycam footage from the officer who took Garcia down. In quick, heroic order, the officer went from chatting with a mother and her young kids to running toward the sound of gunshots as the parking lot and shop sidewalks around him cleared out. In a matter of minutes, if not seconds, Garcia went from the hunter to the hunted. The scene couldn't have been more different from the one that played out at Robb Elementary in Uvalde almost a year before when dozens upon dozens of officers waited for more than an hour outside of two classrooms to finally confront the gunman who killed 21.
May 6, 2023, was also an election day throughout Texas. Allen Mayor Baine Brooks had been at the polls all day when he first heard reports of the shooting. Later, as the details of the massacre became known, he understood just how vital the officer had been in likely saving many more lives.
“My first thought was that his training worked,” the mayor told the Observer last week. “It allowed him to jump into action without hesitation, because he had been trained on what to do. I was also struck by his courage, and the courage of his fellow responding officers, for running into danger when everyone else was running away. To me, that speaks to more than training; it also speaks to character.”
On Monday morning a new, permanent memorial was unveiled on the grounds of the outlet mall. The sculpture, made of hand-painted stainless steel by artist Matthew Placzek, according to WFAA, also has eight wind chimes, one for each person killed in the shooting.
May 6, 2024, is but the first anniversary of the date that will represent an all-too common, American mix of tragedy and heroism for people in Allen, likely for generations. The city is hosting a remembrance event, an interfaith community gathering to honor victims and survivors of the Allen Premium Outlets shooting. Featuring local officials and performances by the Allen high School choir and the Allen philharmonic orchestra, the event will take place on Monday at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center at 6:30 p.m.
