The Texas mall massacre that left eight people dead over the weekend is causing anxiety among retailers who are already under tremendous strain due to rising crime.
Retailers were already stressed about smash and grab robberies, but now there are new fears that a mass shooting will drive shoppers away.
The malls can be vulnerable and difficult to secure.
National Retail Federation now presses lawmakers to do even more to protect customers.
While there is still no official word on the fate of Texas Shooter Mauricio Gárcia, new information has emerged.
He identified as an incel, a young man who considers himself unable to attract women.
“I don’t care about getting a girlfriend anymore because I don’t believe women are capable to genuinely love a man,” he wrote in one online post.
A photo of him with a woman waitress was also shared, along with the caption “How to make a guy go crazy.”
Aric Toller works as a journalist for the website investigative Bellingcat.
He tells that the gunman posted a disturbing profile on a Russian social network.
“In a lot of his posts you can tell he definitely was very bitter,” Toller says.
The shooter also posted shirtless photos with white power tattoos, including Nazi SS lightning bolts and a swastika.
He also shared a photo of the Allen Premium Outlets and indicated he was tracking its busiest time Saturday, the same day he opened fire.
Toller, however, explained that all of this information was posted on an obscure Russian site. This allowed those red flags not to be noticed in the run-up to the eight fatal shootings.
William Cho, 6, who was killed along with his parents, brothers and sister in the Monday shooting, has also been shared.
Williams, who was admitted to ICU and is recovering now after his admission, has regained consciousness. GoFundMe The orphan has raised more than $1.5 million.