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Suspect in Texas mall shooting identified as 33-year-old man
The attacker who killed eight people at an outlet mall in Texas was identified by authorities on Sunday as a 33-year-old man who lived at a nearby motel.
Three law enforcement officials interviewed by The Associated Press named the shooter as Mauricio Garcia, who was shot and killed by a police officer near a mall in a suburb of Dallas. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the ongoing investigation.
Investigators have been searching motels and a residence in the Dallas area linked to the suspect, one of the officials said.
Police also found multiple weapons at the scene after Garcia was shot, including an AR-15-style rifle and a pistol, the official said.
The gunman’s name emerged as the Allen community mourned the dead and awaited news of the seven wounded.
Senior Pastor John Mark Caton of Cottonwood Creek Church, about two miles from the mall, prayed for victims, first responders, as well as shoppers and employees at a weekly service , they “stepped out of what they shouldn’t have seen”.
“Some of us were there. Some of us could be in this room. Some of our students worked in these stores and will be forever changed by that,” Carton said.
Churches planned evening prayer vigils following the shooting, the latest attack that has led to an unprecedented rate of mass killing this year. That comes just a week after a neighbor in Cleveland, Texas, asked a man to stop shooting a sleeping baby, killing five people, authorities said.
Police did not immediately provide details about the victims at the Allen Premium Outlets, a sprawling outdoor shopping mall, but witnesses reported seeing children. Some said they also saw a police officer and a mall security guard lying unconscious on the ground.
Far-right activist Amon Bundy standoff in court
A far-right activist known for showdowns with federal and state law enforcement officials in Oregon and Nevada is launching another form of unilateral standoff after refusing to comply with a court order in a defamation lawsuit in Idaho.
St. Luke’s Regional Health filed a lawsuit more than a year ago alleging that Ammon Bundy and his close associate, Diego Rodriguez, made defamatory statements about the hospital and its staff after Rodriguez’s infant grandson was temporarily separated from the family and brought to St. Luke’s. Luke worries about his health.
Bundy has since defied court orders related to the lawsuit, filed a trespass complaint against the person hired to provide the legal paperwork, and called on dozens of his followers to join him after learning he may be arrested on a warrant. Camped at home for protection. Misdemeanor charge of contempt of court.
“We can build a defense system from here. … that will keep us safe from all the horrible things that are going to happen to us and the world,” Bundy told the crowd gathered at his home in late April, according to a video of his speech. Dozens of people said posting to Facebook.
Bundy’s rhetoric was similar to the way he spoke years ago during armed standoffs with federal law enforcement in Nevada and Oregon. But this time — despite the recurring YouTube videos, far-right media interviews and “call to action” texts sent to People’s Rights Network members — Bundy didn’t gain the same traction. The initial gathering of dozens appeared to have dwindled to a handful.
SUV driver rams crowd at Texas bus stop; 7 dead
At least seven people were killed and at least 10 injured Sunday when an SUV rammed into a crowd as they waited at a city bus stop outside an immigrant shelter in the Texas border city of Brownsville, police said.
Victor Maldonado, shelter director at the Bishop Enrique San Pedro Ozanam Center, said: “What we saw on the video was this Range Rover SUV just coming out about 100 feet away from the lights and going through the people who were sitting there in the public park. The bus station,” Maldonado said.
The city bus stop is just across the street from the shelter and is unmarked. Maldonado said there were no benches and those waiting there were sitting on the side of the road. Most of the victims were Venezuelan men, he said.
He said the SUV flipped over after it ran to the side of the road and continued to move for about 200 feet. Some people who were walking on the sidewalk about 30 feet from the main crowd were also hit, Maldonado said.
Brownsville Police Investigator Martin Sandoval said the crash happened around 8:30 a.m. and police don’t know if the driver deliberately hit the person.“It could be three factors,” Sandoval said. “It could have been drunk; it could have been an accident; or it could have been intentional. To figure out what happened, we have to rule out the other two first.”
— Associated Press
Cairo
Untouchables no more?Arab League restores Bashar al-Assad’s Syria
The Arab League agreed on Sunday to restore Syria’s status, ending a 12-year suspension and taking another step toward bringing long-outcast Syrian President Bashar al-Assad back into the coalition.
Some influential coalition members remain opposed to restoring Syria, chief among them Qatar, which did not send its foreign minister to Sunday’s meeting. Thirteen of the coalition’s 22 member countries sent foreign ministers to the meeting in Cairo.
The decision represented a victory for Damascus, albeit largely symbolic. With Western sanctions against Assad’s government still in place, the return to the Arab League is not expected to lead to a quick release of reconstruction funds in the war-torn country.
Syria’s membership in the Arab League was suspended during the country’s 2011 uprising against Assad’s rule, which was violently suppressed and quickly turned into civil war. The conflict has killed nearly half a million people since March 2011 and displaced half of the country’s pre-war population of 23 million.
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Abu Gheit said in a televised statement that the decision to return Syria to the group is part of a gradual process to resolve the conflict that will allow Assad to join the group’s upcoming May summit on the 19th.
“This does not mean that the Syrian crisis is resolved, quite the opposite,” he said. “But it allows Arab (countries) to communicate with the Syrian government for the first time in many years to discuss all issues.”
Aboul Gheit also said the restoration of Syria’s membership in the group did not mean that all Arab countries had normalized with Damascus.
London
‘Great lunch’ follows celebrations of King Charles’ lavish coronation
At Sunday’s coronation, anyone can wear the crown – even a dog.
The day after the gilded spectacle of King Charles III’s coronation in an ancient religious ceremony, the festivities got more down-to-earth, with thousands of picnics and street parties held across Britain in his honor, no need for fancy invite.
Under the shady canopy of London’s Regent’s Park, Cheung and his girlfriend emerged to cheer the new king with neighbors who embraced them when they moved from Hong Kong. They dressed their loyal “royal” fluffy white dog, Tino, with a little purple crown for the occasion.
“This is a new era for Britain,” Zhang said. “We don’t have those things in Hong Kong. Now, we’re embracing the culture. We want to enjoy it, we want to celebrate it.”
From small villages to the capital, Union Jacks hang from houses and fly from tables and trees in celebration of the newly crowned king. It was printed on napkins and tablecloths, hats and bows. Some wear the colors of the flag like a uniform—red, white, and blue from head to toe, down to the fingernails.
The community gathering is part of Britain’s traditional “big lunch” designed to bring neighbors together to celebrate the coronation, even as support for the monarchy is waning. Critics complained about the cost of the coronation at a time when double-digit inflation has made the cost of living prohibitive.
Thousands of luncheons were organized as part of Sunday’s festivities, alongside an evening concert at Windsor Castle featuring Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and 1990s boy band Take That. Charles encouraged residents to volunteer on Monday, which was declared a public holiday in the UK.
The king and Queen Camilla were expected to attend the concert but skipped any picnics, leaving that duty to the rest of the royal family.
His son, heir to the throne, Prince William and his wife Kate surprised crowds at a picnic outside the castle ahead of the concert. Dressed much more casually than the day before, they shook hands and Kate hugged a crying girl.
— Associated Press
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