OAN Geraldyn Berry
3:37 PM – Monday, May 8, 2023
New information has been revealed by authorities about Mauricio Garcia, the suspect who is accused of killing eight people and wounding seven at the Allen Premium Outlets in Allen, Texas on Saturday.
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Sources have revealed that the 33-year-old man had a brief three-month stint in the United States Army.
“Mauricio Garcia entered the regular Army in June 2008; he was terminated three months later without completing initial entry training,” Heather J. Hagan, U.S. Army Public Affairs spokesperson. “He was not awarded a military occupational specialty. He had no deployments or awards. We do not provide a characterization of discharge for any soldier.”
According to an Army official, Garcia was discharged under a rule that permits commanders to do so when a soldier’s physical or mental health interferes with their ability to perform their duty. The official made no mention of the circumstance that caused Garcia to be separated.
A second Army officer told Military Times that Garcia was taken out of infantry training at Fort Benning, Georgia, because of a mental health issue. The official verified that he was given an uncharacterized discharge, which denotes neither honorable nor dishonorable service.
Sources have also revealed that the alleged gunman had kept up a profile on the Russian social networking site called OK.RU, posting messages that referenced internet communities like 4Chan and material from provocateur and alt-right commentator Nick Fuentes.
The attacker posted more than two dozen images of the Allen Premium Outlets mall, the scene of the mass shooting on Saturday afternoon, and its surroundings in the weeks prior to the attack, as well as several screenshots of Google location data, suggesting that he was keeping an eye on the mall during its busiest hours.
His mental health was mentioned in several of his postings. In his final message, he expressed regret about what his family would think and stated that no amount of therapy could have fixed him. He said in his letter that he had discussed similar ideas with his commanding officer.
A pistol and an AR-15-style rifle were among the shooter’s arsenal when he started shooting at the packed outdoor mall. The suspect had been fatally shot by a police officer who happened to be near the suburban Dallas mall.
Following the shooting, Governor Greg Abbott (R-Texas) responded to the shooting by emphasizing the need to address mental health issues.
“People want a quick solution,” Abbott said. “The long term solution here is to address the mental health issue.”
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