Bodycam Shows Cop Instantly Shift from Friendly-Police Mode to Kill-the-Active-Shooter Mode
This is what courage looks like.
Body camera footage reveals how the decisive action of an Allen Police Department officer neutralized an active shooter at a mall in the Texas city on May 6.
The footage, released Wednesday, shines light on a massacre in which a gunman killed eight and wounded seven before the police officer took him down.
The video release came a day after a grand jury decided the shooting was justified, according to KDFW-TV in Dallas.
The unnamed officer can be seen interacting in friendly conversation with a family and children at the start of the footage — an example of the unpredictable and chaotic nature of the law enforcement profession.
“Make sure you wear your seatbelts when mommy’s driving, OK?” he tells the children.
Little did the officer realize his life would soon be forever changed.
A spree of gunshots can soon be heard in the footage.
The body cam footage of the officer on scene when the mass shooter at the Allen Outlet Mall opened fire has been released.
The name of the police officer has not yet been revealed, but when it is known, we need to flood him with thanks. He did not wait for back up to arrive, he… pic.twitter.com/F0BJ8tKePm
— Sarah Fields (@SarahisCensored) June 28, 2023
The officer retrieves an AR-15-style rifle from his squad car, with jungle-style magazines for a potentially lengthy engagement.
He later indicates the gravity of the situation on police radio.
“One-forty-five, I believe we’ve got a mass shooter.”
The officer fearlessly moves toward the sounds of close gunfire in the mall complex — advancing on the threat in a scenario that could’ve proved instantly fatal.
The hero neutralizes the threat to life with a series of well-placed shots after visually identifying the gunman.
A witness to the events ultimately indicates that the gunman has been neutralized after the rifle shots.
***Warning graphic** Allen PD released body camera footage of police officer taking out the Allen Mall shooter. pic.twitter.com/E0SXuKSjSQ
— Dr. Tre Pennie #PennieForCongress2024🇺🇸 (@sgt_pennie) June 29, 2023
The gunman has been identified as Mauricio Garcia, 33.
Authorities have not released a motive, but according to The Associated Press, Garcia “left a long trail of online posts describing his white supremacist and misogynistic views. He described mass shootings as sport and posted photos showing his large Nazi tattoos and a favorite passage in the ‘Hunger Games’ books marked with a swastika drawn in green highlighter.”
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