What we know about the Allen shooter’s guns and tactical gear

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Scattered among the Allen mall shooter’s racist, misogynist and nihilistic social media posts are photographs and writings that reveal a keen interest in and understanding of tactical gear and high-powered weaponry.

Mauricio Garcia, 33, had three guns when he opened fire Saturday at the Allen Premium Outlets with an assault rifle, killing eight people. Authorities said they found five more weapons in his car.

He obtained all of his guns legally, a Texas Department of Public Safety official said. But the agency as of Wednesday evening had not identified the weapons.

He posted photographs of a Glock 48 semi-automatic handgun and a Benelli M4 semi-automatic shotgun, as well as multiple boxes of ammunition.

Authorities also have not said where the gunman purchased the firearms – whether he bought them online, at a gun show or from a licensed firearms dealer.

Criminal background checks are required to buy guns from licensed dealers, but Texas and federal law do not require such measures for so-called private sales at gun shows or elsewhere.

Gun control advocates have long criticized the controversial “gun show loophole.”

The shooter, who worked as a security guard, did not have any felony convictions, and so he likely would have passed a firearms background check.

Todd Meeks, the owner of Spartan Armor Systems in Tucson, Ariz., confirmed Wednesday that Garcia in May 2020 purchased several tactical items from his store including a steel armored plate. The gunman posted a photo of the sales receipt, which indicates his order included “trauma pads” and “side plates.”

Meeks said Garcia ordered the items online. Demand for body armor and tactical gear was high in 2020 due to pandemic fears, he said.

Meeks said he didn’t know if the gunman used any of that gear in the Allen mall shooting.

The shooter also bought items at GT Distributors, a gun and tactical gear store in northeast Dallas near Garland that caters to law enforcement, private security and other public safety professionals.

The store’s general manager, Joseph Courtney, said on Wednesday that he could not identify the items, citing store policy and the active investigation. He said the store is still looking through its records to provide to federal authorities.

“No one really remembers him,” Courtney said about the gunman.

Garcia in 2021 ordered a rare rifle and two handguns from a Garland gun store, putting down a $100 deposit for each. But the guns were on back order and difficult to get, especially during the pandemic, said John Mannewitz, who owns Targetmaster with his family.

In February, after two years of waiting, the gunman requested the return of his deposit, Mannewitz said. The rifle, a KR-103, is similar to the AK-47, he said. The SIG Sauer P226 and the Beretta 92FS pistols were also difficult to acquire at the time, he said.

Garcia joined the U.S. Army in 2008 but was terminated after three months without completing initial training, an Army spokeswoman said.

A different Army official said Garcia was separated under a regulation related to a host of possible physical or mental conditions, including disorders that could affect emotional control or behavior.