What We Know About Texas Shooting That Left 8 Victims Dead

Topline

At least eight victims were left dead at a suburban Dallas outlet mall Saturday afternoon in the nation’s latest mass shooting, but major questions, like the shooter’s identity, weapon used and potential motive, remained unanswered Sunday morning.

A member for the Allen SWAT team returns to the parking lot near the scene of a shooting at Allen … [+] Premium Outlets on Saturday in Allen, Texas. (Photo by Stewart F. House/Getty Images)

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Key Facts

Shots started ringing out at the Allen Premium Outlets shopping center some 25 miles north of Dallas at around 3:30 p.m., sending shoppers running for cover.

The shooting ended minutes later when an officer who was at the mall on an unrelated call charged toward the sounds of gunfire and killed the shooter, Allen police chief Brian Harvey said at a news conference Saturday evening.

Eight victims were killed in the rampage, while at least seven more remain hospitalized—three in critical condition.

The victims’ identities are not known, but a Medical City Healthcare spokesman told the New York Times injured victims between the ages of 5 and 61 are being treated.

Critical details about the shooter, including the person’s name, have not been publicly released, but CNN reported it obtained a photo showing the suspected gunman on the ground wearing body armor alongside an AR-15-style rifle, while several magazines were also attached to the gunman.

Crucial Quote

“People will be looking for answers. And we’re just sorry that those families are experiencing that loss,” Harvey said. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and the White House, along with several members of Congress, released statements expressing support for Allen following the shooting.

What To Watch For

Abbott told Fox News Sunday he plans to visit Allen later in the day.

Key Background

The Allen massacre is just the latest in a historic trend of mass shootings in the U.S. this year, including several in just the past few days. Police said a shooter opened fire on his neighbors near Houston last weekend—killing five—while a convicted rapist fatally shot six people at a home in rural Oklahoma on Monday and a gunman in Midtown Atlanta killed one person and injured four others in a shooting Wednesday that paralyzed the area for much of the day as authorities carried out a manhunt. The shootings have renewed calls for tougher gun laws in the U.S., which polls show the American public overwhelmingly supports, but congressional Republicans have repeatedly said they will not consider new gun control measures. The then-Democratic-controlled Congress passed the nation’s toughest new gun control laws in decades last year—incentivizing states to enact so-called red-flag policies and enhancing background checks for buyers under 21—but figures like President Joe Biden have called for greater action, like an assault weapons ban. Congress passed the new policies after a shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, left 19 children and two staff members dead.

Big Number

199. That’s how many mass shootings have been reported in the U.S. this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive—by far the fastest pace to start a year since the nonprofit started keeping track of mass shootings in 2014.