On the day of a mass shooting at a Texas mall that left eight people dead and seven others injured, a video of the suspected gunman removing a mask of the Scream character Ghostface appeared on YouTube.
The video, which was uploaded on Saturday (6 May), features a man starring into a camera, removing the Scream mask, then saying: “Not quite what you what expecting, huh?”
Though law enforcement officials have not confirmed the identity of the person in the video, it appears to be the gunman, identified as 33-year-old Mauricio Garcia.
A link to the YouTube video was provided via Garcia’s apparent profile on the Russian website ok.ru.
The profile, tied to Garcia, featured photos of tattoos that Garcia had, a photo of a receipt that had the name “Mauricio” on it and a phone number that seemed to match Garcia’s.
Garcia left several concerning posts on his profile that indicated he had neo-Nazi ideation and explored far-right extremist views.
In posts seen by The Independent, Garcia posted photos showing SS and swastika tattoos, praise for Adolf Hitler, misogynistic rants that echo incel ideas and complaints about the state of his mental health.
Photos of dumped-out boxes of ammunition posted with images of the Allen Premium Outlets, where the shooting occurred, appeared on the profile.
Several posts indicated Garcia had thought about violence for years including a photo of a handwritten note from 2019 that detailed a dream about racist violence.
Garcia also had a swastika tattoo on his body and was found with the acronym “RWDS” for Right Wing Death Squad” on him at the time of the shooting.
The gunman was shot dead by a police officer just three to four minutes into the shooting.
In Garcia’s apparent last post, he complained that a psychologist would not be able to “fix” him.
In a press conference on Tuesday, law enforcement officials, including the FBI, said they were investigating Garcia’s electronic devices and digital footprint to see if they could find a motive for the shooting.
Authorities believe Garcia planned the location of the attack but shot indiscriminately.
The victims of the shooting include 20-year-old Christian LaCour, 26-year-old Aishwarya Thatikonda, 37-year-old Kyu Song Cho, 35-year-old Cindy Cho, three-year-old James Cho, 11-year-old Daniela Mendoza, eight-year-old Sofia Mendoza and 32-year-old Elio Cumana-Rivas.
