Update: Texas shooter may have been member of right-wing group

Police say the shooter at the Texas shopping Mall may have links to the far right.

The man who murdered nine people and injured us was named yesterday (May 7 ) as 33-year-old Mauricio Garcia.

Police have said today that investigators are reviewing Garcia’s social media as during the attack he wore a clothing patch which bore the letters RWDS which stands for Right Wing Death Squad. It is a phrase used by white supremacists and right-wing extremists.

The police think the mall attack may have been motivated by these right-wing ideals.

Seven people died at the mall and a further two were pronounced dead when they reached the hospital. Another three people are in critical condition and four others were stabilised.

The police responded to a call of an “active shooter” at Allen Premium Outlets which is about 30 miles north of Dallas.

A spokesperson for Medical City Healthcare, Janet St James, said the hospital had received eight patients from the shooting who ranged in age from six to sixty-one. No further details have as yet been released about the deceased including the shooter.

A spokesperson for the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said: We believe he (the shooter) acted alone, and we don’t believe that there’s another threat at this time.”

Shoppers in the mall reported that they heard gunfire and took cover where they could before fleeing or barricading themselves in back rooms. A couple at the scene said they were in a sportswear store when the shooting started. Nrs Mary Anne Greene said “We had just gotten in, just a couple of minutes earlier, and we just heard a lot of loud popping. Employees immediately rolled down the security gate and brought us to the back of the store until police arrived and escorted us out.”

The police in Allen said the attack was still under investigation and that people should continue to stay away from the shopping mall.