Outlet mall shooting leaves 8 dead in Dallas, Texas
[객원 에디터 5기 / 민찬홍 기자] On May 6th, a fatal shooting took place in an outlet mall in Texas that left eight killed and many others were wounded. A gunman in tactical gear moved through Allen Premium Outlets after having first shot in the mall’s parking lot. 911 dispatch instructed citizens to hide safely and stop the bleeding of injured victims, using phrases such as “stay safe and stay down” and “take cover.” The massacre only ended after an officer fatally shot the gunman, marking the 202nd mass shooting in the United States this year.
Investigators have attempted to determine the gunman—33-year old Mauricio Garcia who had previously posted online in support of Nazism, guns, and prior mass shootings. At the time of the shooting, Garcia was reportedly wearing a badge that read “RWDS”, standing for “Right wing death squad”, which dates back to a dictator’s vicious right wing rule in the 1970s and 1980s and which is associated with neo-Nazi groups. These signs led to suspicion and further controversy. Indeed, Texas Public Safety Regional Director Hank Sibley stated that “To me, it looks like he targeted a location rather than a specific group of people.” This prompted persistent attempts to find any wider threat to public safety. In addition, implicit inferences that Garcia supports white supremacy has led to calls to investigate whether the shooting was a hate crime.
The ages of the shooting victims injured range from 5 to 61, some of whom received treatment at the Medical City Healthcare hospital. Three patients are reported to remain in critical condition. At a news conference, Texas Governor Greg Abbott stated that it remains too early to draw conclusions or develop policies in response to the tragedy, but encouraged a resolution and when asked if more should be done to keep weapons out of the hands of people with harmful intentions. Citizens push for further engagement and action towards regulating gun laws, in order to prevent the many shootings that occurred throughout the year. While the debate surrounding gun control has been long-standing in the United States, it appears that a national solution is now desperately needed to protect the safety of Americans.
Sources: CNN, The New York times
