Police release body camera footage of officer who fatally shot Texas outlet mall shooter

By Amy Simonson and Ray Sanchez, CNN

(CNN) — A Texas police officer tells two children with their mom in a mall parking lot to be good and to wear their seat belts when a burst of gunfire erupts.

The mother is then seen in footage from the officer’s body camera ducking and whisking her children to safety as the officer calls for back up.

The Allen Police Department released footage Wednesday from the body camera worn by the officer, who ultimately confronted and fatally shot a mass shooter who killed eight people – including two elementary school children – last month at an outlet mall in Allen, Texas.

“This video shows how quickly a routine interaction with the public turned into a life-and-death situation,” Allen Police Chief Brian Harvey said in a statement released Wednesday.

“The officer recognized the danger, ran toward the gunfire and neutralized the threat – and for his actions, the Allen community is forever grateful.”

Mauricio Garcia, 33, started firing an AR-15-style rifle in the parking lot of Allen Premium Outlets on May 6 before making his way through the complex as shoppers and employees ran for cover, authorities said.

The video, just over five and a half minutes long, begins with the officer interacting with the family when they hear shots being fired.

“I think we got shots fired at the outlet mall,” the officer is heard saying. “People running.”

The video shows the officer returning to his vehicle to retrieve a rifle and then running toward the gunfire, warning people to leave.

“Go, go, get moving,” he yelled. “Get out of here!”

As he moves closer to the sound of gunfire, the officer communicates through his radio that there was a active shooting.

“145, I believe we’ve got a mass shooter,” he said.

The officer could be heard on the video yelling for the shooter to drop his weapon as shots were being fired.

“I’m passing injured,” he said.

“I’m moving as fast as I can,” the officer said moments later.

Video shows the out-of-breath officer making his way close to the sounds of gunshots when he stops and fires his weapon multiple times.

“Shots fired by police, I got him down,” he said. He continues firing and yells for the shooter to drop the gun.

The officer moves toward the downed shooter.

“Get away from there,” the officer yells at one point.

“I’m moving up on him,” the officer said, getting closer to the downed suspect.

“I got him down… I’m not hearing any gunshots. Is he down?”

Another officer said, “He’s dead.”

Grand jury finds police use of force was justified

The footage was released following a grand jury hearing Tuesday where a “no bill” was returned indicating that the use of force by police was justified under Texas law.

The video was edited by police to blur out the faces of civilians and victims, and some language has been removed, according to the statement.

In addition to the fatalities, at least seven other people were transported to hospitals for treatment, including a 5-year-old child.

Shoppers and employees scrambled into storage areas and hid when they heard gunshots. Witnesses said some people sheltered in place for up to two hours as law enforcement cleared the sprawling complex.

Garcia was terminated from the Army due to health concerns and may have been driven by right-wing extremism, sources told CNN.

A US defense official told CNN Garcia was separated from the Army about 15 years ago because of a mental health condition after an evaluation. Under Army regulations at the time, a commander could approve the separation of a service member for physical or mental health conditions that interfere with an assignment or performance of duty.

Army spokesperson Heather Hagan said Garcia was terminated in June 2008 after three months in the service and did not complete basic training.

At the mall, the gunman had eight weapons with him: three on his person and five in his vehicle.

Most of his weapons were purchased from private sellers, which means Garcia didn’t have to go through a federal background check. The shooter obtained the firearms “over time,” the source said, adding “this was not an instance where he rushed to buy weapons prior to the attack.”

The weapons were all legally obtained, Texas Department of Public Safety Regional Director Hank Sibley told reporters.

While no official motive has been announced, the gunman was wearing an insignia authorities believe may be associated with extremist groups, a senior law enforcement source familiar with the investigation told CNN at the time.

The insignia appears to be shown in a photo on an account on the Russian social media website Odnoklassniki that a law enforcement source said investigators believe belongs to the shooter.

The user posted writings approving of Nazi ideology, shared images of his firearms and uploaded a photo of the mall in the weeks before the shooting, according to the source.

The-CNN-Wire
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