The Allen Police Department released footage Wednesday from the body camera worn by the officer who fatally shot the mass shooter who killed eight people last month at an outlet mall in Allen, Texas.
Mauricio Garcia, 33, started firing an AR-15-style rifle in the parking lot of Allen Premium Outlets on May 6 before making his way through the complex as shoppers and employees ran for cover, authorities said. An Allen police officer on a nearby call responded and fatally shot Garcia.
"This video shows how quickly a routine interaction with the public turned into a life-and-death situation," Allen Police Chief Brian Harvey said in a statement released Wednesday. "The officer recognized the danger, ran toward the gunfire and neutralized the threat - and for his actions, the Allen community is forever grateful."
The video, just over five and a half minutes long, begins with an officer interacting with a family and telling children to remember to wear their seat belts when they hear shots being fired.
NEW — Texas police have released body camera footage of the officer who neutralized the mass shooter at the Allen Outlet Mall without waiting for backup. He goes from telling little kids to wear their seatbelts to running toward the sound of gunshots.https://t.co/op63KPh5X0
— KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) June 28, 2023
The officer quickly responds by calling in for backup as the family hurries away.
"I think we got shots fired at the outlet mall," the officer is heard saying. "People running."
The video then shows the officer returning to his vehicle to retrieve a rifle and then running toward the gunfire, warning people to leave.
"Go, go, get moving," he yelled. "Get out of here!"
As he moves closer to the sound of gunfire, the officer communicates through his radio that there was a mass shooter.
"145, I believe we've got a mass shooter," he said.
The officer could be heard on the video yelling for the shooter to drop his weapon as shots were being fired.
"I'm passing injured," he said.
Video shows the out-of-breath officer making his way close to the sounds of gunshots when he stops and fires his weapon multiple times.
"Shots fired by police, I got him down," he said. He continues firing and yells for the shooter to drop the gun.
The officer moves toward the downed shooter, and a second officer says, "He's dead."
The footage was released following a grand jury hearing Tuesday where a "no bill" was returned indicating that the use of force by police was justified under Texas law.
The video was edited by police to blur out the faces of civilians and victims, and some language has been removed, according to the statement.
The video, which is embedded below, begins with the officer casually talking to a woman and her two children about seatbelt safety. Moments later, the sound of rapid gunfire erupts in the distance. The woman quickly lowers her head and moves her children out of the way as the officer reaches inside his patrol vehicle for a rifle and notifies dispatchers he's heard gunshots.
The officer runs toward the stores, tracking the sounds of gunfire as they grew louder and louder the closer he gets. As he continues moving toward the blasts, shooting at people to leave the area and take cover.
About a minute and 40 seconds after the first shots were heard in the video, the officer reached the outside of the H&M store where he encountered the first victims.
"I believe we've got a mass shooter. I've got a magazine on the ground. I'm passing injured," the officer, growing breathless, could be heard saying into his radio. "I'm moving as fast as I can to try to get over there."
The officer continues to run through the outside galleries of the outlet as the sound of gunfire bursts continues.
About three minutes into the video, the officer fires his first shots at the gunman. As the shooting subsided, the officer then continued to cautiously move toward the gunman while calling out to other officers arriving at the scene.
"I'm moving up on him ... watch your fire! I got him down," the officer said.
Another officer then confirms the gunman is dead.
The video ends with the two officers standing next to the gunman's body, which is blurred out.
Allen Police said they have requested a comprehensive and independent review of the incident by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) to offer insight and best practices for future training and emergency response
EXPERT OPINION
"His actions, words can't really describe what he did and how many lives are saved because of him," said Craig Miller, a retired Dallas Police Deputy Chief and Dallas ISD Chief.
He sat down with NBC 5 to watch the video that is around lasts about 5 minutes and 15 seconds.
"This officer was prepared he did exactly what he needed to do and the reason why so many lives were saved were because of his actions," said Miller.
"We can see from the video there are bodies he's passing, he knows this person is dangerous and he knows in his mind he's not thinking about himself at all, he's really thinking, 'What can I do to stop this person from hurting people,' and that is an unbelievable human trait that he had and he just exemplified what you need to do," said Miller.
He described how the officer, who has not been officially named, went from community policing to dealing with an active shooter.
"It's a day in the life of a police officer, going from zero to 100 and then having to take that shot going back to zero so you can calmly do what you need to do," said Miller.
He also highlighted how the officer contacted dispatch, remained calm, took a minute to think and grabbed his rifle, which proved to be needed regarding the distance at which he shot the gunman.
"The shot that he was able to fire that took him down from that distance was an incredible shot and his actions are so heroic," said Miller.
"In our society today we use 'hero' and 'Rockstar' too liberally, but when I look at this and I see this from having been a police officer for 38 years, I can't imagine what he was doing and the way he was able to remain as calm and do the things that he did," said Miller.
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