The New York Times reported that the shooting in Allen is the second-deadliest mass shooting of the year in the U.S., behind only January's Monterey Park, California, shooting that left 11 people dead.
“Another bolt of horror. Another grisly round of tragic death, unfathomable grief, and rising fear and anxiety." Democrat state Sen. Nathan Johnson of Dallas said in a statement on Sunday. "Desperate to protect ourselves, we slide further into violence. It reaches our every common space. We add locks and sensors, hire guards, and arm ourselves, yet deadly violence still finds us. It’s getting worse. How do we reverse the deadly slide into an increasingly violent culture?"
Official communication has been relatively minimal to this point, nearly 48 hours after the shooting, with much of the information being provided by news outlets quoting sources from inside law enforcement. On Sunday, after a number of outlets named Garcia as the shooter, The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), which is now handling the investigation, issued only a single line of text confirming Garcia’s identity as the gunman along with a couple paragraphs of basic, miscellaneous information.
On Saturday there were two quick press briefings. One was held shortly after the shopping center site was secured and the second around 9 p.m. Neither briefing offered the media a chance to ask questions, and both were only a few minutes long and short on details. To this point, the DPS hasn’t answered questions publicly, and Gov. Greg Abbott has barely answered any questions from local media.
A number of journalists and outlets, including The Dallas Morning News, have noted that a lack of verified information not only likely helps fuel speculation, but perhaps enables bad actors seeking to purposely spread misinformation.
"How do we reverse the deadly slide into an increasingly violent culture?"– Texas Sen. Nathan Johnson (D-Dallas)
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The identities of seven of the victims have been announced. WFAA reported on Sunday night that Christian LaCour, 20, and Aishwarya Thatikonda, 27, were two of those killed in the shooting.
According to the report, LaCour, a Farmersville resident, was working as a security guard at the mall and McKinney resident Thatikonda worked as an engineer and had family in India. A friend of Thatikonda’s who was with her on Saturday was reportedly injured in the shooting but is recovering in the hospital.
On Monday morning, the South Korean consulate from Houston announced that Cho Kyu Song, 37, Kang Shin Young, 35, and their 3-year-old son were among those killed on Saturday, according to the Dallas Morning News. The report also said that a 6-year-old child in that family survived and is recovering in the hospital.
Just before 12 p.m. Monday, WFAA also reported that parents in the Wylie Independent School District received an email informing them that a pair of sisters, a fourth-grade student named Daniela Mendoza and a second grade student named Sofia Mendoza, were killed in Allen. WFAA added, "The girls' mother, Ilda, is in critical condition, according to Wylie ISD."
Roughly 24 hours after the shooting, reports began appearing from national outlets, including the Washington Post and Rolling Stone, indicating that Garcia was possibly motivated by extreme right wing and white supremacist views and had several guns in his car at the time of the shooting. On Sunday the Post report said Garcia was found to be wearing a tactical vest featuring a “RWDS” patch, which is believed to stand for “Right Wing Death Squad,” a moniker often associated with the Proud Boys extremist group. Rolling Stone reported that according to FBI documents they reviewed, Garcia “frequently posted pro-white supremacist and neo-Nazi materials on social media.”
Rolling Stone's report also stated that Garcia was discharged from the military in 2008 because of “mental health concerns” and that authorities believe Garcia was an “incel,” a shortened form of "involuntary celibate," a name some men give themselves when they feel they are unable to sexually attract women.
On Sunday, President Joe Biden ordered all U.S. flags to be flown at half-mast while he also called out Congress by tweeting “send me a bill banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Enacting universal background checks. Requiring safe storage. Ending immunity for gun manufacturers. I will sign it immediately. We need nothing less to keep our streets safe.”
The Texas DPS has not announced any plans for further press briefings or announcements and did not respond to a request for further information. McKinney counseling firm Life Path Systems announced on its Facebook page that it is offering free counseling services to Collin County residents affected by Saturday’s events.
