Biden again demands action after at least 8 killed in Texas mall rampage
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People gathering at a makeshift memorial on May 7, 2023, outside the Allen Premium Outlets mall where a shooter opened fire on shoppers on May 6.
PHOTO: AFP
WASHINGTON – US President Joe Biden renewed his call on Sunday for a national assault-weapons ban and other gun safety measures.
The call came a day after at least eight people were murdered at a Texas shopping mall
Responders, distressed witnesses and police described scenes of panic and horror north of Dallas on Saturday.
Video footage circulating online showed the shooter exiting a car in an outlet mall carpark and firing a semi-automatic rifle on people walking nearby.
An officer on an unrelated call nearby quickly responded and “neutralised” the shooter at the large facility in Allen city, police said.
Seven people were pronounced dead at the scene, in addition to the shooter.
Two other victims died in hospital while “three are in critical surgery, and four are stable”, Allen fire chief Jonathan Boyd said on Saturday.
Multiple US news outlets, all citing unnamed law enforcement sources, identified the shooter on Sunday as 33-year-old Mauricio Garcia.
As at Sunday evening, law enforcement had not released details about a possible motive or the identities of the victims.
A family member identified one of the slain victims on social media as security guard Christian LaCour.
“We watched this sweet young boy turn into a very sweet gentleman,” Ms Kellie Smith wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday, identifying Mr LaCour as the brother of her daughter-in-law. “Words cannot even begin to describe the devastation that our family feels.”
Mr Biden ordered US flags lowered to half-staff “as a mark of respect for the victims” and repeated his call for lawmakers to take action against a gun “epidemic”.
“Once again, I ask Congress to send me a Bill banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines,” the 80-year-old Democrat said.
He also demanded that lawmakers require universal background checks for gun purchases and end legal immunity for manufacturers whose weapons are used in attacks.
“I will sign it immediately. We need nothing less to keep our streets safe,” Mr Biden said in a statement.
The attack is the latest in an alarming trajectory of deadly US gun violence.
Barely a week earlier, a man shot and killed five neighbours in Cleveland, Texas,
Several other people have also been gunned down in recent weeks over petty disputes or common mistakes, such as knocking on the wrong door or getting into the wrong car.
At least 199 mass shootings have occurred in the US so far in 2023, the most at this point in the year since at least 2016, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
The non-profit group defines a mass shooting as any in which four or more people are wounded or killed, not including the shooter.
“Too many families have empty chairs at their dinner tables,” Mr Biden said, as he berated his political opponents for inaction.
“Republican members of Congress cannot continue to meet this epidemic with a shrug,” he said. “Tweeted thoughts and prayers are not enough.”
No ‘quick solution’
The gunfire at Allen Premium Outlets, 55km north of Dallas, erupted on Saturday afternoon when it was busy with weekend shoppers, police said.
The officer in the mall “heard gunshots, went to the gunshots, engaged the suspect and neutralised the suspect”, said Allen police chief Brian Harvey.
Mr Biden joined local officials in hailing the quick actions of police for most likely saving lives.
The police chief later said the authorities believe the unidentified shooter “acted alone”.
CNN showed a cropped photograph of the apparent gunman dead on the ground, wearing tactical gear with extra magazines, and with an AR-15-style rifle at his side.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott called the shooting an “unspeakable tragedy”.
But on Sunday, as Democrats repeated calls for Congress to enact gun safety legislation and blasted Texas and other states for allowing permitless carrying of firearms, the Republican governor refused to be drawn on whether restricting guns was an answer.
“People want a quick solution. The long-term solution is to address the mental health issue”, including the increased “anger and violence” in America, he told Fox News on Sunday.
‘Unfathomable’ carnage
Former police officer Steven Spainhouer said he was confronted with horrific images when he rushed to the scene and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on victims before emergency responders arrived.
Finding one female victim on the ground, he told CBS News: “I felt for her pulse, pulled her head to the side, and she had no face.”
He found the son of another victim lying alive under his dead mother and “covered head to toe” in her blood.
“It’s just unfathomable to see the carnage,” he said.
On Sunday evening, community members packed into Cottonwood Creek Church to hold a vigil for the victims.
“Our hearts were broken yesterday,” Allen Mayor Ken Fulk told the congregation. “We thank you for your patience and understanding during this ongoing investigation.”
With more firearms than inhabitants, the US has the highest rate of gun deaths of any developed country – 49,000 in 2021, up from 45,000 the year before. AFP, REUTERS
