May 10 (UPI) -- Texas authorities confirmed the weapons used in Saturday's mass shooting at a Dallas-area outlet mall that killed eight people, including three children, were legally obtained.
Texas Department of Public Safety Regional Director Hank Sibley told reporters Tuesday that Mauricio Garcia, 33, had eight weapons, including three found on him and another five in his vehicle.
Garcia shot 15 people -- killing eight and injuring seven -- with an AR-15 rifle, according to Sibley who said the gunman started shooting in the parking lot of Allen Premium Outlets in Allen, Texas, on Saturday afternoon before moving into the complex.
Garcia was shot and killed minutes later by an Allen police officer, whose name has not been released following his request for privacy.
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"We are so blessed that an Allen police officer who took appropriate action, did what he did when he did it," Sibley said. "He undoubtedly saved countless lives. If he hadn't been there, we would have had a much more severe situation."
While Sibley said investigators are still working to determine a motive for Saturday's shooting, they have verified that Garcia held White supremacist beliefs.
Garcia had "neo-Nazi ideation," Sibley said. Investigators discovered a Russian social media profile with racist, misogynistic, anti-LGBTQ and anti-Semitic posts that they believe belonged to the gunman.
Investigators also believe Garcia chose the mall as his target, but then fired at random.
Garcia did not have a criminal record, but had been discharged from the U.S. Army in 2008 for mental health issues.
"Early on, they realized he was not fit for the Army," Sibley said, adding that military reporting standards have improved and would have prevented Garcia from obtaining firearms legally if he had been discharged for mental health issues today.
Since the start of the year, there have been more than 200 mass shootings -- defined as a shooting in which at least four people were killed -- in the United States, according to nonprofit The Gun Violence Archive.
President Joe Biden has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff.
The mall's owner, Simon Property Group, said the outlet stores will remain closed indefinitely.
