ALLEN.- Police have released a video in which an officer kills an armed neo-Nazi and ends a massacre that left eight dead and seven injured in a shopping center on the outskirts of Dallas, in Texas.
The five and a half minute video shows Mauricio Garcia, 33, firing a burst from an AR-15 type rifle at the Allen Premium Outlets on May 6.
Among the dead were three members of a family of Korean origin with a three-year-old boy, two little sisters, a security guard and an Indian engineer.
Police have not revealed the motive for the attack, which occurred in a record-breaking year for the number of killings.
Body camera video of an Allen police officer begins as the officer, outside the mall, tells two children to fasten their seatbelts and behave.
Moments later, the noise of bursts of shots is heard inside the center. The children and a woman who is with them flee while the agent reports the incident on his radio, takes a rifle from his car and runs to the scene of the shots.
As he runs, the agent yells at people to get out. At one point he says over his radio, “I think we have a massive trigger. I see wounded.”
The agent continues running through the external galleries while the shots continue. In the fourth minute of the video, the agent opens fire, firing at least half a dozen rounds.
An instant later, the officer yells, “Drop the gun!” and then reports, “I put it down!”
Another agent confirms that the man is dead.
At the end of the video, two agents stand next to the body, which has been blurred.
The day before, a grand jury exonerated the agent, stating that “the use of force was justified under Texas law.”.
The Korean-origin family members killed were Kyu Song Cho, 37; Cindy Cho, 35; and her three-year-old son, James Cho. Her six-year-old son was injured.
The other dead were Aishwarya Thatikonda, 27; sisters Daniela Mendoza, 11, and Sofía Mendoza, 8; guard Christian LaCour, 20; and Elio Cumana-Rivas, 32.
Garcia used one of eight legally purchased guns that he had brought to the mall, according to authorities.
The murderer had no criminal record. An army official told the AP that Garcia did not complete basic training and was discharged for mental health reasons. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity.
FUENTE: With information from AP
