(AUSTIN, Texas) — The rotunda of the Texas state Capitol echoed Monday morning with pleas from more than 160 activists who gathered in Austin to demand the legislature take action on gun reform.
Monday marked the last day the Texas legislature could vote on House Bill 2744 — which would raise the age to buy assault rifle-style weapons from 18 to 21 — out of committee to be heard for further discussion.
In the morning, the protesters chanted “raise the age” and “do your job” at lawmakers as they headed to their offices. By the afternoon, the bill passed the Community Safety Committee and is now on its way to the House Calendar Committee, marking a win for the advocates.
Fifteen of those protesters in the crowd were Uvalde families who lost children in the May 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary that killed 21 students and teachers.
The legislators “don’t care about missed birthdays or empty chairs at the dinner table,” Berlinda Arreola, step-grandmother of 10-year-old Uvalde victim Amerie Jo Garza, told ABC News Monday morning. “They don’t care about Amerie’s classmates or teachers. They don’t care about the lives lost in [mass shootings in the Texas cities of] Santa Fe, El Paso, Cleveland, Sutherland Springs, or even those lost on Saturday in Allen, Texas. They share their ‘thoughts and prayers.'”
“Here we are begging for a vote on the last day to make it happen,” she said, hours before the bill passed the Community Safety Committee. “They have chosen the NRA and their own interest over their constituents over and over again. You have no right to play Russian roulette with our lives. Our children are not safe. Our families are not safe. We are not safe. Prove me wrong.”
This weekend’s mass shooting at a mall in Allen, Texas was too much to comprehend for Kimberly Rubio, whose 10-year-old daughter, Lexi, was killed in Uvalde.
“I’m so sorry I’m not strong today. Maybe that’s what y’all need to see. Because at the end of the day, I’m just a mom who wants my daughter back who doesn’t want another mom to know my pain,” said Rubio, a journalist and a mom of six, as tears rolled down her cheeks.
Now that the bill has passed the Community Safety Committee, it will head to the House floor for further discussion and debate before being voted on there. No date has been set for the House to vote. If HB 2744 passes the House, it would then have to pass the Texas Senate by the end of May.
Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who has been an outspoken advocate for the Uvalde families and was among the protesters Monday, tweeted after the bill passed the Community Safety Committee, “Our voices are making a difference. The push to bring this bill to the House floor continues.”
Jerry Mata, whose 10-year-old daughter Tess was killed in Uvalde, said he jumped for joy once the bill passed the committee.
“I consider it a big step,” he told ABC News. “So now, the fight continues.”
Tess’ mom, Veronica Mata, added, “I think this was a sign from our babies, that, you know, we’re doing the right thing. We’re helping protect other children.”
(BUFFALO, N.Y.) — In the wake of the racially motivated mass shooting at a Buffalo grocery store a year ago this week, there was an outpouring of sympathy and support.
Vice President Kamala Harris addressed the funeral for Ruth Whitfield, at 86 the oldest of the 10 Black victims, decrying the “epidemic of hate” in America and saying “no one should ever be made to fight alone.”
But 10 days after the May 14, 2022, attack, the national spotlight shifted to Uvalde, Texas, where 19 students and two teachers were gunned down at an elementary school. A number of mass shootings followed, drawing attention away from Buffalo, leaving survivors, loved ones and the community where the massacre occurred, saying, once again, they felt on their own to pick up the pieces.
“We keep looking for somebody, but nobody’s coming in to save us,” said Garnell Whitfield Jr., the retired Buffalo fire commissioner, and Ruth Whitfield’s son. “This is about looking inwardly. Any changes that have ever happened in the world are because humans got together and connected in some way.”
While some residents say they have started fending for themselves, elected leaders argue that this is a turning point, a moment of urgency to help save the east side from decades of neglect, segregation and the numerous underlying inequalities government has failed to fix and made it a target of hate.
$1.1 billion in funds
At least $1.1 billion in state and federal funds have been earmarked for east side improvements, but citing a history of broken promises and indifference, some longtime residents say they won’t believe the money will make it to where it’s supposed to go until they see results.
About a week before the deadly rampage last May, state and local elected leaders announced a $1 billion commitment to construct a park-like cover over the Kensington Expressway, which was built decades ago and divided the east side community.
In June, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced $50 million of targeted investments as part of the state’s effort to address the immediate needs on Buffalo’s east side, acknowledging that the neighborhood “for decades suffered from significant disinvestment, neglect, and the failure of government policy.”
The funds include the state’s first-ever investment in a community-led initiative to fight food insecurity on the east side, which has one grocery store, the Tops where the shooting occurred.
Hochul said money is also going to support small businesses, job training programs and to assist first-time homebuyers and east side homeowners facing foreclosures.
In March, Hochul announced $2.5 million in additional funding, specifically to help individuals affected by the shooting. Money, she said, was to be immediately distributed to boost staffing at the Buffalo United Resiliency Center, a place of healing for those affected by the massacre, including Tops employees and shooting survivors.
“The racist policies that contributed to the mass shooting did not happen overnight, and the difficult essential work to heal and correct the harms won’t either,” Rep. Brian Higgins, whose congressional district includes Buffalo, said in a statement to ABC News, adding the east side neighborhood “will not be forgotten.”
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said she has worked to get her “Build Local, Hire Local” legislation passed, prioritizing training and hiring of local workers on government-funded projects, including those impacting the east side community.
“We will never forget the ten innocent lives we lost last year, and I promise to never stop fighting in Congress to honor their memory and strengthen this community,” Gillibrand said in a statement to ABC News.
And Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he is pushing to establish an innovation and manufacturing hub in Buffalo, “to build new economic opportunities for workers across the city.”
“Though we have made strides since that awful day, there is much work to be done, and I will stand with community leaders every step of the way to build a safer and more equitable Buffalo for all.” Schumer said in a statement to ABC News.
Inequity in development
Following the shooting, people across the nation donated $6.4 million to the Buffalo 5/14 Survivors Funds, which by November was dispersed to 169 individuals directly affected by the shooting, with most of the money going to the families of those killed and the three people wounded. But others survivors who were not physically injured but were traumatized by the horrific episode said the $9,500 many of them received wasn’t enough to get them back on their feet.
Despite the pledges of support, some neighborhood advocates allege little of the funding delivered to Buffalo in the decades prior the store shooting has gone to the east side.
Since 2012, more than $8 billion in economic investment has been made citywide in Buffalo, according to the Mayor’s Office of Strategic Planning. While such neighborhoods as Elmwood Village in the central part of the city, picked as one of America’s 10 Great Neighborhoods by the American Planning Association, and Hertel Avenue in North Buffalo boasts bustling shopping areas and major projects, the east side residents say they’ve been mostly shunned.
“What you have is a lot of big projects going on all over the place. And we believe as a consequence, white business owners will get most of the contracts and workers on the projects will be mostly white,” Dr. Henry Louis Taylor, director of the Center for Urban Studies at the University at Buffalo, told ABC News.
Taylor said he’s skeptical east side residents will benefit in any substantial way from the post-shooting infusion of funds, saying, “Those millions and billions of dollars will flow through the east side like water through a sieve en route to suburban communities and upscale Buffalo neighborhoods.”
But Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, elected the city’s first Black mayor in 2006, told ABC News he disagrees, saying, “millions and millions of dollars” have been invested in the east side community during his administration. He said in many ways the neighborhood is still struggling to recover from the widespread damage left by a 1967 race riot that required thousands of abandoned and crumbling homes to be torn down and have never been replaced.
“When you talk about Elmwood Village, when you talk about Hertel Avenue, that kind of unrest never occurred in that part of the city. So, the neighborhood fabric, the commercial fabric was completely intact,” Brown said.
In the meantime, east side residents said they are doing what they can to save themselves.
‘Life is good on Cherry Street’
Katherine “Kat” Massey lived on Cherry Street in a house once belonging to her parents just feet from the Kensington Expressway. Among her neighbors were her sister, Barbara Massey Mapps, and her brother, Warren Massey. When she felt happy, she would often tell her family, “life is good on Cherry Street,” her sister told ABC News.
Kat Massey, according to Mapps, was involved in up to 20 community groups and was the Cherry Street Block Club president. Following Kat Massey’s death in the Tops shooting, her loved ones have kept caring for city-owned empty lots on their street, beautifying them with trees.
“He took a real beautiful person from us. Not just us, but from the other people on the street,” Damone Mapps, Kat Massey’s nephew, said of the killer, 19-year-old Payton Gendron, who pleaded guilty to committing the mass shooting and was sentenced in February to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
During Gendron’s sentencing hearing, Damone Mapps, 46, attempted to take justice into his own hands. While his mother, Barbara Massey Mapps, was delivering an emotional victim impact statement, he suddenly lunged at Gendron, prompting court officers to restrain him.
“I wanted to kill him. I’m thinking, we’ve got to do something to this man for all the pain,” he told ABC News.
Following his Aunt Kat’s example, Damone Mapps said he maintains the empty city-owned lots on his streets, several blocks from Cherry Street.
“It doesn’t stop the movement for us,” he said of his aunt’s murder.
Samantha’s Garden
As the city works on plans for a permanent memorial for those killed in the mass shooting, deep-rooted east side resident Walter Myles has already erected one in the front yard of his century-old Victorian home. Among the chrysanthemums, sunflowers and morning glories are photos encased in clear acrylic sheets of the 10 Black residents killed in the Tops massacre.
“It shows people care. We care,” the 72-year-old retired railroad conductor told ABC News.
He said he holds a bond with those grieving their loved ones a year later. His garden is dedicated to the memory of his 23-year-old niece, Samantha Cothran, who was fatally shot in a separate incident on May 13, 2012, outside a house party in Buffalo.
His garden also features photos of firemen and police officers who perished in the line of duty, and historical African American figures, including Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Thurgood Marshall. It makes him “feel strong,” he said, when people pass his house and smile.
“That’s what flowers do to people, it brings out the best of us,” Myles said.
Fighting white supremacy
Relatives of other victims of the Buffalo mass shooting have formed or are working on their own grassroots groups.
Whitfield and his brother, Raymond Whitfield, have launched the nonprofit Pursuit of tRuth to fight white supremacy in honor of their murdered mother.
Mark Talley, whose 62-year-old mother, Geraldine Talley, was killed, also launched a nonprofit, Agents for Advocacy, to fight injustice and promote socioeconomic equity in Buffalo. And Wayne Jones, who lost his 65-year-old mom, Celestine Chaney, said he is planning to start a nonprofit to support children whose parents are killed as a result of violent crime.
Solving the ‘food apartheid’ problem
The east side Tops, which reopened two months after the mass shooting, remains the only supermarket in the neighborhood — for now, serving the 68,000 residents of the east side, which five decades ago boasted numerous grocery stores and businesses.
The African Heritage Food Co-op is working to convert an old grocery store about a mile from the Tops market into a 5,000-square-foot co-op to offer fresh food from regional farms, several owned by Black farmers.
“Food is control. If someone controls your food, they can control where you go, they can control how you vote,” Alexander Wright, the founder of the program, told ABC News.
Wright said he has secured more than $3 million in private donations and grants from the state of New York, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Buffalo Bills Foundation to construct the new store with tentative plans to open it this year, staffed with employees from the east side.
“We’re not about access, we’re about ownership,” Wright said. “Anything less than ownership is unacceptable.”
Tackling racial inequities
The Tops tragedy has moved some east side leaders to double down on efforts to achieve racial justice and equity in education, employment, health and homeownership, saying they’re determined to make the victims of the shooting catalysts for change.
The racial justice group Open Buffalo’s office sits a few minutes from the Tops supermarket where the shooting happened and sprang into action right away to help the neighborhood in its darkest days.
“Everyone just showed up and just started doing,” Franchelle Parker, executive director of Open Buffalo, told ABC News.
Among the organization’s most prominent efforts to break the cycle has been its Emerging Leaders program, which seeks to identify future local leaders and teach them organizing and networking skills to affect meaningful change in their communities.
Michelle Jones, director of the Liberty Partnerships Program in Buffalo, a group funded by the New York State Department of Education that works with students in grades 5-12 to curb the school dropout rate and prepare them for college or careers, was among the first graduates of the Emerging Leaders program.
“My hope is that with the tools and the networking I have done, I can translate that into helping students be community organizers,” Jones said. “I can help them to advocate for themselves and give them access to different spaces outside their neighborhood, so they can become successful and meaningful contributors to their neighborhoods and beyond.”
ABC News’ Kiara Alfonseca contributed to this report.
(BROWNSVILLE, Texas) — A makeshift altar marks the spot where multiple migrants were struck and killed by a vehicle on Sunday. People have been trickling in and paying respect.
“¡Arriba Venezuela!,” a passerby yelled.
Sofía Nuñez, who lives right around the corner, was fighting back tears as she lit the candles in honor of the victims. With each candle that she lifted she whispered a little prayer.
The bus stop where the migrants were waiting is non-descript. Signs marks it as an area where migrants gather were difficult to see in the dark. But it’s known to the locals, including Sofía, as a place where migrants who’ve been processed by CBP go to wait for buses that will take them to their next destination.
With Title 42 expected to expire this week, border towns will likely see bigger groups at similar bus stops throughout the southern border.
“They had plans to see their families and look what happened … dead in the street,” Sofía told me in Spanish.
Sofía was a nurse for 35 years in Matamoros, one of the most violent towns just south of the border, but she says she has never seen as much carnage as she saw today.
She walked to the end of the block and pointed at the spot in the middle of the road where she saw a man’s lifeless body just hours before.
It’s common for migrants to gather in the area and they sometimes knock on her door asking for help. She has happily given them food, water, and directions.
“This is a sanctuary city, this is not supposed to happen here,” she said.
(ALLEN, Texas) — Eight victims were killed when a gunman opened fire at shoppers at the Allen Premium Outlets in Allen, Texas, on Saturday.
Here is what we know about the lives lost:
Christian LaCour
Christian LaCour, 20, died during the Allen, Texas shooting, his sister, Brianna Smith, confirmed to ABC News.
LaCour was an on-duty security guard at the outlet mall where the shooting occurred, his sister said.
“He was a really sweet kid,” Brianna Smith told ABC News over the phone. “I’m sad that he’s gone.”
Christian’s mother, Tracye LaCour, asked for privacy, telling ABC News they are praying for the families of the other victims.
Daniela Mendoza and Sofia Mendoza
Daniela Mendoza, a fourth grader, and sister Sofia Mendoza, a second grader, were both killed in the shooting, Wylie Independent School District Superintendent David Vinson said in a statement.
“Daniela and Sofia were the kindest, most thoughtful students with smiles that could light up any room,” their principal, Krista Wilson, said in a statement. “Our hearts are broken and words cannot express how deeply they will be missed.”
Daniela and Sofia’s mom, Ilda, is in critical condition from the shooting, Vinson said.
“Words cannot express the sadness we feel as we grieve the loss of our students. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Mendoza family, the families of the victims, and all those affected by this senseless tragedy,” Vinson said.
“We are not announcing the news to students, as we want our parents to be able to have those conversations,” Vinson added. “Every school’s counseling team is equipped to support those who may be struggling, so please do not hesitate to reach out.”
Aishwarya Thatikonda
Aishwarya Thatikonda, an engineer who lived in McKinney, Texas, was also among the victims, Dallas ABC affiliate WFAA reported.
She was at the mall with a friend, who was injured and hospitalized, a family representative told WFAA
Thatikonda’s family plans to have her body sent to India, where her relatives are located, WFAA reported.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Miles Cohen and Alyssa Pone contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — “We are going to take a journey to justice,” Trump defense attorney Joe Tacopina told the jury as he began his closing statement Monday in writer E. Jean Carroll’s civil defamation and battery case against former President Donald Trump.
Carroll, who brought the lawsuit in November, alleges that Trump defamed her in his 2022 Truth Social post by calling her allegations “a Hoax and a lie” and saying “This woman is not my type!” when he denied her claim that Trump raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the 1990s.
The former Elle magazine columnist added a charge of battery under a recently adopted New York law that allows adult survivors of sexual abuse to sue their alleged attacker regardless of the statute of limitations. Trump has denied all allegations that he raped Carroll or defamed her.
Closing statements began with Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, telling jury members that Carroll was “was exactly” Trump’s type and that he sexually assaulted Carroll the very way he described treating women on the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape.
Kaplan once again played for the jury the excerpt of Trump’s October 2022 deposition in which he momentarily mistakes Carroll for his second wife.
“What did Mr. Trump do after I showed him that photograph?” Kaplan told the jury. “He looked at it for a moment and then, completely unprompted by me, he said, ‘It’s Marla.’ She was exactly his type!”
Kaplan asserted that Trump only corrected himself when his own lawyer jumped in after realizing how potentially damaging the statement was.
“He said the photo was blurry. But that’s the photo, ladies and gentleman,” Kaplan said, putting the 1980s-era photograph of Carroll, her then-husband John Johnson, Trump, and his then-wife Ivana Trump on the screen in the courtroom. “The truth is that E. Jean Carroll, a former cheerleader and Ms. Indiana, was exactly Donald Trump’s type.”
Kaplan juxtaposed Trump’s mistaken identification with his remarks on the “Access Hollywood” tape, on which he is heard saying about women that “I just start kissing them … I don’t even wait” and that when you’re a star you can “grab them by the p—-.”
“What is Donald Trump doing here?” Kaplan said. “He’s telling you in his own words how he treats women. It’s his modus operandi.”
The attorney also repeated what Trump said during his deposition about how stars get away with the conduct. “Well that’s what, if you look over the last million years, I guess that’s been largely true. Not always, but largely true. Unfortunately or fortunately,” Trump is heard saying.
“Fortunately or unfortunately?” Kaplan told the jury. “Who would say fortunately to describe the act of sexual assault? I know who. He thinks stars like him can get away with it. He thinks he can get away with it here.”
Kaplan implored the jury that “you must hold him to account for what he’s done.”
Tacopina, in his closing argument, told jury members that “what E. Jean Carroll has done here is an affront to justice.”
He denied that Trump battered or defamed Carroll, saying, “All Donald Trump said was, ‘I didn’t do it.'”
“Donald Trump doesn’t have a story to tell here other than to say it’s a lie,” Tacopina told the jury.
“If something is completely made up, the only way to defend yourself is by challenging the people who made it up and the story itself,” Tacopina said, describing the challenge Trump faces in court. “He lashes out, rightly or wrongly. It doesn’t make up for the lack of proof in Ms. Carroll’s unbelievable story.”
The defense attorney seized on the fact that Carroll has not been able to recall the date of the alleged rape. Noting that Carroll’s attorney had reminded jury members that Trump declined to testify in his own defense, Tacopina asked jury members, “What could I have asked him? Where were you on some unknown date 27 or 28 years ago?”
“And why is there no date to an event as significant as this in someone’s life?” the attorney said. “It’s not a coincidence. With no date, no month, no year, you can’t present an alibi.”
Calling Carroll’s claim “an unbelievable work of fiction,” Tacopina said that if the alleged attacker was anyone but Donald Trump, “we’re not here. Not on this story.”
“What they want is for you to hate him enough to ignore the facts,” the attorney said.
“There is no objective evidence to corroborate her claim, including a police report,” Tacopina told the jury. “She never went to the police, because it didn’t happen.”
“E Jean Carroll’s story is not worthy of your belief,” said Tacopina, who referred jurors to a 2021 text message written by former television newswoman Carol Martin, who Carroll said she told about the alleged rape the day after Trump allegedly attacked her.
“It’s too hyperbolic,” Martin, who testified for Carroll, wrote to a friend in the Nov. 30, 2021, message regarding Carroll’s case. “Too much celebratory stuff over something that hasn’t really happened.”
“She’s asking you to condemn another citizen of rape, the worst thing you can do, and she’s asking you to do it on evidence that couldn’t stand up in any credible, objective fact assessment, that would never make it through a police investigation,” Tacopina told the jury.
The defense is relying on cross-examination of the plaintiff’s 11 witnesses, including Carroll herself, who Tacopina asked repeatedly why she did not scream during the alleged rape.
Kaplan reminded the jury of the psychologist who testified that “screaming is one of the least likely things that actually occurs” in those situations.
Kaplan also said that some of Carroll’s other behaviors that the defense questioned were consistent with someone who experienced trauma, including keeping the dress she wore the evening of the alleged assault, continuing to shop at Bergdorf Goodman, and watching Trump on “The Apprentice.” Not doing those things, Kaplan said, would have forced Carroll to acknowledge how deeply the alleged rape affected her.
“Are they required to live a life of total suffering in order to seek justice in the court?” Kaplan asked regarding victims of assault. “Of course not.”
Kaplan asked the jury for no specific damage award, saying the case was not about money but about restoring Carroll’s name.
“What is the price for decades of living alone without companionship? No one to cook dinner with, no one to walk your dog with, no one to watch TV with?” Kaplan said. “I’m not going to put a number on that.”
She did, however, implore the jury to hold Trump accountable.
“In this country, even the most powerful person can be held accountable in court. No one, not ever a former president, is above the law,” Kaplan said. “Your job is to uphold that core principle.”
The nine-member jury of six men and three women is weighing Carroll’s defamation and battery claims and deciding potential monetary damages.
After Trump declined to testify in his own defense last week, Judge Lewis Kaplan gave him until Sunday to reconsider, setting a Sunday afternoon deadline for Trump to file a motion to reopen the case for the sole purpose of testifying, in light of remarks Trump made while golfing in Europe suggesting he would return to New York to confront his accuser. However Trump’s team filed no motion with the court.
This month’s trial is taking place as Trump seeks the White House for a third time, while facing numerous legal challenges related to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, his handling of classified material after leaving the White House, and possible attempts to interfere in Georgia’s 2020 vote.
(DALLAS) — One person is dead and two are injured after a fight broke out between two people on a Dallas Area Rapid Transit train, a spokesperson said.
DART police officers are searching for the alleged shooter, officials said in a statement. A man involved in the altercation was transported but has since died, the statement said.
One of the bystanders was transported to Baylor Hospital in Dallas, the other was treated at the scene with non-life-threatening injuries, a spokesperson said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(TRENTON, Mo.) — Twelve tornadoes were reported across four states overnight, heavily damaging roofs and some outbuildings in Missouri. Tornadoes touched down in Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota on Saturday.
Trenton, Missouri, was hit the hardest, with a tornado damaging the roof of a 130-year-old church.
Softball-sized hail up to 4 inches was reported in Missouri, going through the roof of a steel structure near Coffey, Missouri.
Damaging winds surpassing 80 mph impacted parts of the Midwest, damaging trees and other structures.
Strong to severe storms moved through Illinois and Indiana early Sunday morning, making their way to Ohio.
More than 11 million Americans from Texas to Wisconsin Sunday may experience very large hail and damaging winds, along with isolated tornadoes putting Iowa, parts of Nebraska and Missouri the most at risk.
Storms are expected to start popping up around 6 p.m. ET and continue into the night, making for another dangerous nocturnal severe weather event. Missouri and Illinois are facing threats of severe storms on Monday.
On Monday, the severe threat is stationed in Missouri and Illinois where large hail, damaging winds and isolated tornadoes are possible.
On Tuesday, Kansas and Oklahoma also face the potential for severe weather risk.
The record-breaking heat so far this month is helping bring severe weather to the Heartland, especially storms occurring at night.
Kansas City hit a record 91 degrees on Saturday, breaking its daily record of 89 degrees set in 1970 and 2004. The city could break another record as it reaches close to 90 degrees on Sunday.
On Friday, a daily record high temp was recorded in Dallas, Texas, at 96 degrees, breaking the 1984 record. Over the last 30 years, the average first 96-degree day is May 28, so this temperature is arriving three weeks earlier than normal.
These warm temperatures reached the Northeast this weekend, with temperatures in New York City hitting 78 degrees on Sunday and forecast to reach 75 degrees on Monday.
ABC News’ Nadine El-Bawab contributed to this report.
(BROWNSVILLE, Texas) — Seven people are dead in Brownsville, Texas, after a car ran into pedestrians Sunday morning while they were waiting at a bus stop.
The crash occurred at 8:30 a.m. near the Ozanam Center in Brownsville when a gray Range Rover slammed into the bus stop, a representative from the Brownsville Police Department told ABC News.
In addition to those who died, up to 10 people are being treated for serious and minor injuries at the hospital, according to police.
Police have a male suspect, who is a resident of Brownsville, in custody and receiving medical care, authorities said.
Some of those hit Sunday are migrants, according to Martin Sandoval, Brownsville Police PIO. The migrants were under the care of border patrol, police said.
“We grieve for the victims in Brownsville, Texas, who were run over outside a migrant shelter where people from around the world are seeking asylum and safety,” the American Civil Liberties Union said in a statement Sunday. “We understand the motive is still under investigation. This horrific event comes after weeks of escalating anti-immigrant policy-making by Texas politicians and while the Biden administration considers imposing a new asylum ban aimed at deterring, rather than welcoming, migrants seeking protection.”
The driver is in the hospital being treated and under 24-hour guard watch, police said. Tests are currently being performed to check for alcohol and drug use, police said.
Investigators did not comment on a possible motive or whether the crash was intentional.
“Secretary Mayorkas has been briefed on the tragic situation in Brownsville and has reached out to local leaders to offer condolences and the full support of the Department,” a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in a statement. “The Department is in close touch with local authorities to provide assistance.”
(ALLEN, Texas) — Nine people died and seven others were injured on Saturday after a gunman opened fire at an outdoor mall north of Dallas, Texas, officials said.
The alleged gunman, who died after a confrontation with police, was among the seven people who were killed at the Allen Premium Outlets, the scene of the shooting, Allen Police Department officials said. Nine additional people were transferred to hospitals, where two later died, officials said. The hospitalized victims’ ages range from 5 to 61 years old, authorities said.
Multiple law enforcement agencies responded at about 3:30 p.m. on Saturday to the outlets in the Dallas suburb, where an active shooter incident had been reported.
“This is a tragedy. People will be looking for answers,” Allen Police Chief Brian Harvey said during a press briefing. “We’re sorry that those families are experiencing that loss.”
Aerial footage from the scene showed shoppers being evacuated from the stores, many with their arms raised in the air.
None of the victims’ names have been released. Information about the suspect has not been released publicly.
ABC News’ Izzy Alvarez contributed to this report.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
May 07, 3:33 PM EDT
Alleged shooter ID’d in deadly Texas mall rampage
The suspect in the Allen, Texas, mall mass shooting was identified Sunday as Mauricio Garcia, according to law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation.
The 33-year-old Garcia was fatally shot by a police officer who rushed to the gunfire and confronted him at the outlet mall on Saturday afternoon, police said.
The Texas Department of Public Safety, which is leading the investigation, was searching Mauricio’s home and vehicle on Sunday. The agency declined to comment further on Garcia and said the motive for the shooting remains under investigation.
President Joe Biden said the assailant was dressed in tactical gear and armed with an AR-15-style assault weapon he used to gun down eight people and injure at least nine others.
May 07, 2:43 PM EDT
3 people wounded in attack remain in critical condition: Police
At least three people wounded in a mass shooting at an Allen, Texas, outlet mall remained in critical condition on Sunday, according to police.
Four victims were taken to Medical City McKinney, a trauma center in McKinney, Texas, about seven miles from Allen. Three of the patients were in critical condition and one was listed in fair condition, according to a statement Sunday from the Allen Police Department.
Eight victims were killed in the attack and a total of nine people were injured, police said. The shooter, whose name has not been released by police, was confronted and fatally shot by a police officer.
Among the injured, one patient was transferred from Medical City McKinney to Medical City Plano and was in fair condition. Another patient was transferred to Medical City Children’s Hospital in fair condition, police said.
“We are a strong and caring community and we want all of the victims and their families impacted by this tragedy to know that we will wrap our arms around you, and we are here for you,” Allen Mayor Kenneth M. Fulk said in a statement released Sunday. “The City of Allen pledges to offer our complete support. We know you are grieving, we are grieving. Rest assured, the nation and the world are also grieving.”
May 07, 2:40 PM EDT
Biden calls on Congress to pass assault weapons ban
President Joe Biden is renewing his call for Congress to pass an assault weapons ban following Saturday’s mass shooting at a Texas outlet mall.
“Yesterday, an assailant in tactical gear armed with an AR-15 style assault weapon gunned down innocent people in a shopping mall, and not for the first time. Such an attack is too shocking to be so familiar,” Biden said in a statement released Sunday.
“And yet, American communities have suffered roughly 200 mass shootings already this year, according to leading counts. More than 14,000 of our fellow citizens have lost their lives, credible estimates show. The leading cause of death for American kids is gun violence,” Biden said.
Biden argued that “some progress” has been made as a result of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, and his various executive actions, but blasted GOP lawmakers, saying, they “cannot continue to meet this epidemic with a shrug. Tweeted thoughts and prayers are not enough.”
“Once again, I ask Congress to send me a bill banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Enacting universal background checks. Requiring safe storage. Ending immunity for gun manufacturers. I will sign it immediately. We need nothing less to keep our streets safe.”
May 07, 12:03 PM EDT
Abbott says mall shooting underscores need to address mental health issues
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he plans to visit Allen, Texas, on Sunday afternoon as he argued in a TV interview that the mass shooting at an outlet mall there underscores the need to focus on addressing mental health issues.
“Texans are hurting today. And the people who are hurting the most obviously are the families of the victims, the families of lost loved ones, families who have a loved one who is injured and our main priority right now is to help and support those families in the Allen community,” Abbott said on Fox News Sunday.
He said he is going to Allen on Sunday “to begin the process of providing hope and healing.”
“But I can tell you there are questions that are lingering that the families want answers to. And that is why this happened? Why did that gunman do this? How did this happen? And I know that those families need answers as quickly as possible,” said Abbott, who praised the quick response of police in confronting the shooter and killing him.
Abbott was asked about new polling that shows strong support for background checks for gun purchases, increasing the legal age to buy a gun to 21 and requiring mental health checks for purchases. The governor said his state is also looking at legislation to address “easy solutions” to get guns out of the hands of criminals.
But overall, Abbott argued, the focus should be on the “long term solution” of addressing mental health.
May 07, 11:23 AM EDT
Domestic terrorism probed in Texas outlet mall massacre
As authorities work to determine a motive for the outlet mall shooting in Allen, Texas, one avenue investigators are exploring is whether this was an act of domestic terrorism, multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News.
The shooter wore patches or stickers on his clothing that raised suspicion he may have gravitated toward right-wing extremism, the sources said, though they added no motive has yet been established.
Federal agents were seen at a home in the Dallas area believed to be associated with the shooter, ABC Dallas affiliate station WFAA reported.
Federal investigators are already going through the suspect’s electronic devices and social media as they work to understand what led to the killing rampage, the sources said.
In addition to a rifle used in the shooting, sources said investigators recovered additional firearms in a vehicle associated with the shooter.
The Texas Rangers are the lead agency on the case with assistance from the FBI, ATF and Allen police.
May 07, 11:08 AM EDT
‘I got him down’: officer who apparently killed Texas shooter says in radio transmission
Police radio dispatches from the Allen, Texas, mall shooting Saturday captured the chaotic moments as the massacre unfolded, including an officer who apparently confronted the killer, calling for backup before reporting, “I got him down.”
“We got shots fired at the Allen Mall,” an officer is heard saying in the radio dispatches, according to the Broadcastify, which records emergency transmissions.
A police officer was at the Allen Premium Outlets when the shooting erupted around 3:30 p.m. Saturday, raced to the gunfire and fatally shot the suspect, Allen Police Chief Brian Harvey said at a news conference on Saturday.
“We got people running,” the officer on the scene radioed to a police dispatcher. “I need everybody I got.”
A short time later, the officer radioed, “I got him down,” referring to the gunman, who police have yet to identify.
May 06, 11:46 PM EDT
Shopper says she ‘hunkered down’ amid shooting
A woman was shopping when she says the shooting began and described how people began to flee for safety.
Elaine Penicaro said in an interview that she was finishing up her shopping when she heard “popping” noises and began to realize how dire the situation was.
“We saw sparks flying like it was right in front of us. So we just ran into the Converse store. They locked the door. We all hunkered down in the back. And that’s where we stayed,” she said.
Penicaro said she heard the police arrive within five to 10 minutes.
May 06, 11:13 PM EDT
Vigil planned for Sunday
A vigil will be held Sunday afternoon in the aftermath of the deadly shooting.
State Rep. Jeff Leach said that a vigil was planned for 5 p.m. at Cottonwood Creek Baptist Church. He made the announcement during a briefing Saturday evening.
“This community is home for us and our hearts are devastated and broken tonight no law enforcement official no elected official Ever imagines or plans to or hopes to speak in front of a press conference like this,” Leach said.
May 06, 11:01 PM EDT
Mayor calls shooting a ‘tragic day’
Ken Fulk, the mayor of Allen, called the shooting a tragic day for the community and extended his sympathies. Fulk, who was elected in 2020, also pledged his support.
“Today is a tragic day for the city of Allen, our citizens, our friends and visitors who were at the Allen Premium Outlets today. We are a strong and caring community and we all want the victims and their families impacted by this tragedy to know that we will wrap our arms around you. And we are here for you,” he said.
May 06, 10:47 PM EDT
Shooter killed at the scene
The shooter was killed at the scene, police said.
Allen Police Department Chief Brian Harvey said at a press briefing that an officer was at Allen Premium Outlets on an unrelated call when he heard gunshots and located the shooter who was then “neutralized.”
“We are asking for the public’s help if you are a witness,” Harvey said.
(ALLEN, Texas) — Nine people died and seven others were injured on Saturday after a gunman opened fire at an outdoor mall north of Dallas, Texas, officials said.
The alleged gunman, who died after a confrontation with police, was among the seven people who were killed at the Allen Premium Outlets, the scene of the shooting, Allen Police Department officials said. Nine additional people were transferred to hospitals, where two later died, officials said. The hospitalized victims’ ages range from 5 to 61 years old, authorities said.
Multiple law enforcement agencies responded at about 3:30 p.m. on Saturday to the outlets in the Dallas suburb, where an active shooter incident had been reported.
“This is a tragedy. People will be looking for answers,” Allen Police Chief Brian Harvey said during a press briefing. “We’re sorry that those families are experiencing that loss.”
Aerial footage from the scene showed shoppers being evacuated from the stores, many with their arms raised in the air.
None of the victims’ names have been released. Information about the suspect has not been released publicly.
ABC News’ Izzy Alvarez contributed to this report.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
May 07, 2:43 PM EDT
3 people wounded in attack remain in critical condition: Police
At least three people wounded in a mass shooting at an Allen, Texas, outlet mall remained in critical condition on Sunday, according to police.
Four victims were taken to Medical City McKinney, a trauma center in McKinney, Texas, about seven miles from Allen. Three of the patients were in critical condition and one was listed in fair condition, according to a statement Sunday from the Allen Police Department.
Eight victims were killed in the attack and a total of nine people were injured, police said. The shooter, whose name has not been released by police, was confronted and fatally shot by a police officer.
Among the injured, one patient was transferred from Medical City McKinney to Medical City Plano and was in fair condition. Another patient was transferred to Medical City Children’s Hospital in fair condition, police said.
“We are a strong and caring community and we want all of the victims and their families impacted by this tragedy to know that we will wrap our arms around you, and we are here for you,” Allen Mayor Kenneth M. Fulk said in a statement released Sunday. “The City of Allen pledges to offer our complete support. We know you are grieving, we are grieving. Rest assured, the nation and the world are also grieving.”
May 07, 2:40 PM EDT
Biden calls on Congress to pass assault weapons ban
President Joe Biden is renewing his call for Congress to pass an assault weapons ban following Saturday’s mass shooting at a Texas outlet mall.
“Yesterday, an assailant in tactical gear armed with an AR-15 style assault weapon gunned down innocent people in a shopping mall, and not for the first time. Such an attack is too shocking to be so familiar,” Biden said in a statement released Sunday.
“And yet, American communities have suffered roughly 200 mass shootings already this year, according to leading counts. More than 14,000 of our fellow citizens have lost their lives, credible estimates show. The leading cause of death for American kids is gun violence,” Biden said.
Biden argued that “some progress” has been made as a result of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, and his various executive actions, but blasted GOP lawmakers, saying, they “cannot continue to meet this epidemic with a shrug. Tweeted thoughts and prayers are not enough.”
“Once again, I ask Congress to send me a bill banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Enacting universal background checks. Requiring safe storage. Ending immunity for gun manufacturers. I will sign it immediately. We need nothing less to keep our streets safe.”
May 07, 12:03 PM EDT
Abbott says mall shooting underscores need to address mental health issues
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he plans to visit Allen, Texas, on Sunday afternoon as he argued in a TV interview that the mass shooting at an outlet mall there underscores the need to focus on addressing mental health issues.
“Texans are hurting today. And the people who are hurting the most obviously are the families of the victims, the families of lost loved ones, families who have a loved one who is injured and our main priority right now is to help and support those families in the Allen community,” Abbott said on Fox News Sunday.
He said he is going to Allen on Sunday “to begin the process of providing hope and healing.”
“But I can tell you there are questions that are lingering that the families want answers to. And that is why this happened? Why did that gunman do this? How did this happen? And I know that those families need answers as quickly as possible,” said Abbott, who praised the quick response of police in confronting the shooter and killing him.
Abbott was asked about new polling that shows strong support for background checks for gun purchases, increasing the legal age to buy a gun to 21 and requiring mental health checks for purchases. The governor said his state is also looking at legislation to address “easy solutions” to get guns out of the hands of criminals.
But overall, Abbott argued, the focus should be on the “long term solution” of addressing mental health.
May 07, 11:23 AM EDT
Domestic terrorism probed in Texas outlet mall massacre
As authorities work to determine a motive for the outlet mall shooting in Allen, Texas, one avenue investigators are exploring is whether this was an act of domestic terrorism, multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News.
The shooter wore patches or stickers on his clothing that raised suspicion he may have gravitated toward right-wing extremism, the sources said, though they added no motive has yet been established.
Federal agents were seen at a home in the Dallas area believed to be associated with the shooter, ABC Dallas affiliate station WFAA reported.
Federal investigators are already going through the suspect’s electronic devices and social media as they work to understand what led to the killing rampage, the sources said.
In addition to a rifle used in the shooting, sources said investigators recovered additional firearms in a vehicle associated with the shooter.
The Texas Rangers are the lead agency on the case with assistance from the FBI, ATF and Allen police.
May 07, 11:08 AM EDT
‘I got him down’: officer who apparently killed Texas shooter says in radio transmission
Police radio dispatches from the Allen, Texas, mall shooting Saturday captured the chaotic moments as the massacre unfolded, including an officer who apparently confronted the killer, calling for backup before reporting, “I got him down.”
“We got shots fired at the Allen Mall,” an officer is heard saying in the radio dispatches, according to the Broadcastify, which records emergency transmissions.
A police officer was at the Allen Premium Outlets when the shooting erupted around 3:30 p.m. Saturday, raced to the gunfire and fatally shot the suspect, Allen Police Chief Brian Harvey said at a news conference on Saturday.
“We got people running,” the officer on the scene radioed to a police dispatcher. “I need everybody I got.”
A short time later, the officer radioed, “I got him down,” referring to the gunman, who police have yet to identify.
May 06, 11:46 PM EDT
Shopper says she ‘hunkered down’ amid shooting
A woman was shopping when she says the shooting began and described how people began to flee for safety.
Elaine Penicaro said in an interview that she was finishing up her shopping when she heard “popping” noises and began to realize how dire the situation was.
“We saw sparks flying like it was right in front of us. So we just ran into the Converse store. They locked the door. We all hunkered down in the back. And that’s where we stayed,” she said.
Penicaro said she heard the police arrive within five to 10 minutes.
May 06, 11:13 PM EDT
Vigil planned for Sunday
A vigil will be held Sunday afternoon in the aftermath of the deadly shooting.
State Rep. Jeff Leach said that a vigil was planned for 5 p.m. at Cottonwood Creek Baptist Church. He made the announcement during a briefing Saturday evening.
“This community is home for us and our hearts are devastated and broken tonight no law enforcement official no elected official Ever imagines or plans to or hopes to speak in front of a press conference like this,” Leach said.
May 06, 11:01 PM EDT
Mayor calls shooting a ‘tragic day’
Ken Fulk, the mayor of Allen, called the shooting a tragic day for the community and extended his sympathies. Fulk, who was elected in 2020, also pledged his support.
“Today is a tragic day for the city of Allen, our citizens, our friends and visitors who were at the Allen Premium Outlets today. We are a strong and caring community and we all want the victims and their families impacted by this tragedy to know that we will wrap our arms around you. And we are here for you,” he said.
May 06, 10:47 PM EDT
Shooter killed at the scene
The shooter was killed at the scene, police said.
Allen Police Department Chief Brian Harvey said at a press briefing that an officer was at Allen Premium Outlets on an unrelated call when he heard gunshots and located the shooter who was then “neutralized.”
“We are asking for the public’s help if you are a witness,” Harvey said.
