Mauricio Garcia, the gunman authorities said was responsible for eight deaths in Allen, Tex., was terminated by the Army for mental-health reasons three months after he enlisted in 2008, and recent social-media postings show links to white-supremacist views. Garcia, 33, was shot dead by a police officer after opening fire at Allen Premium Outlets. He used an AR-15-style rifle in the attack and other firearms were found at the scene. Authorities are examining Garcia’s mental-health history as well as his possible ties to white supremacy, the Wall Street Journal reports. Investigators were trying to piece together Garcia’s ideology and learn more about his final days before the attack by interviewing associates and relative.
A social-media profile features photographs of the outdoor mall in Allen and a screenshot of Google Maps for Allen Premium Outlets, showing its busiest times. The profile also features photos of ammunition.The profile picture is a smiley-face emoji with a Hitler-style mustache. The site also contains a picture of body armor. Journal entries included on the profile support white supremacy and Nazis, while acknowledging the writer is Hispanic. One page referred to the period when the writer joined the Army. “I then met actual White nationalist and that’s when I became a full blown White supremacist. One of my White friend’s actually said ‘I’m not a racist compared to you,’” an entry said. Garcia appeared to have been among what researchers described as an increasingly visible number of people with Hispanic backgrounds who espouse far-right, white-supremacist views. "Anti-Blackness and white supremacy are a global phenomenon, and within Latin America and the Caribbean, there have long been hierarchical societies in which whiteness is prized and white supremacy is viewed as a laudable goal,” said Fordham law Prof. Tanya Hernández, author of the book “Racial Innocence: Unmasking Latino Anti-Black Bias and the Struggle for Equality.”