Sharjah24 - AFP: A day after eight people were killed at a Texas shopping mall in the most recent mass shooting to rock the country, US President Joe Biden reiterated his plea for a national assault weapons ban and other gun safety measures on Sunday.
Responders, distressed witnesses and police described scenes of panic and horror in Allen, where video footage shared online showed the shooter exiting a sedan in an outlet mall parking lot Saturday and firing a semi-automatic rifle at people walking nearby.
An officer on an unrelated call nearby quickly responded and "neutralized" the shooter, police said.
Seven people were pronounced dead at the scene, including the shooter, while two others died in the hospital, authorities said.
Three people were in critical condition as of Sunday morning, the Allen Police Department said.
The Texas Department of Public Safety identified the suspected shooter as Mauricio Garcia, a 33-year-old from Dallas, in a statement Sunday evening.
While the statement did not offer further details about Garcia's background or motive, multiple US media outlets said investigators were probing his social media posts, which allegedly showed an interest in radical right-wing ideology, including white supremacy and neo-Nazism.
"Eight Americans -- including children -- were killed yesterday in the latest act of gun violence to devastate our nation," Biden said in a statement Sunday.
He ordered US flags lowered to half-staff "as a mark of respect for the victims" and repeated his call for lawmakers to take action against a gun "epidemic."
"Once again, I ask Congress to send me a bill banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines," the 80-year-old Democrat said.
He also demanded lawmakers require universal background checks for gun purchases and end legal immunity for manufacturers' whose weapons are used in attacks.
"I will sign it immediately. We need nothing less to keep our streets safe," Biden said in a statement.
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