Report: Texas Mall Shooter Removed from Army in 2008 over Mental Health Issues

ALLEN, TEXAS - MAY 7: Law enforcement works the scene on the day after a shooting at Allen
Stewart F. House/Getty Images

ABC News reported that 33-year-old Mauricio Garcia, who allegedly opened fire at the Allen, Texas, outlet mall Saturday afternoon, was removed from the U.S. Army in 2008 “due to mental health concerns.”

Breitbart News noted that eight people were killed and numerous others injured when the suspect opened fire at the outlet mall around 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

The attack was stopped by a police officer who was at the mall on an unrelated call. The officer shot and killed Garcia.

Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) responded to the attack by explaining that the quick push for gun control ignores the mental health issues that have to be addressed, according to Breitbart News.

FOX News observed Cuellar urging people to get past calling for more laws and restrictions and focus instead on the “root problem.”

He said, “If people talk about just… making the law stricter. You got to look at, you know, in states that are blue, very strict laws, you still get this type of mass shootings. So it does happen across the nation, and we have to get to the bottom of this.”

Cuellar added, “There’s always a reason why certain people [carry out mass shootings] and there’s always telltale signs before. There’s indicators that we should have looked out for. But again, to the law enforcement that put a stop to this, again, I thank them.”

The Texas Tribune explained that Gov. Greg Abbott (R) responded to the outlet mall attack by telling FOX News there needs to be a stronger focus on mental health.

Abbott said, “We are working to address that anger and violence by going to its root cause, which is addressing the mental health problems behind it. People want a quick solution. The long-term solution here is to address the mental health issue.”

Watch — Scarborough: “There Is a Sickness in the State of Texas” Starting with Gov. Abbott

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. AWR Hawkins holds a Ph.D. in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.

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