The first victim of the shooting in Allen, Texas has been identified as a 20-year-old man who worked as a security guard at the mall where the massacre took place.
Christian LaCour was positively identified by friends and family on Sunday afternoon as one of nine killed — including the gunman.
LaCour’s mother confirmed he was killed when a gunman walked into the Allen Premium Outlets Saturday morning and opened fire on the crowded mall.
In a post posted Sunday, Sandra Montgomery, LaCour’s grandmother, said she was “so proud of him” as she shared the tragic news of his death.
“My beautiful grandson, Christian LaCour, was the guard who died in the Allen Texas shooting. He was such a beautiful soul,” she wrote.
The first victim of the shooting in Allen, Texas has been identified as 20-year-old Christian LaCour who worked as a security guard at the mall where the shooting took place
The shooting took place at the Allen Premium Outlets in Allen, Texas, a small suburb north of Dallas, killing at least eight people.
At least one of the dead, the Good Samaritan recalled, was a child, whom he desperately tried to save after rushing to the H&M where the shots rang out.
In another tribute shared Sunday, a person close to LaCour’s family said he was a “very sweet gentleman.”
Kellie Smith said she considered herself lucky to have “watched this sweet young boy turn into a very sweet gentleman,” the woman wrote on Facebook.
‘Their will forever be a void. Please support his family in prayer as they navigate this unimaginable time of their lives. Christian, you will always be close to us, for we will hold you in our hearts until we see you in heaven,” Smith wrote.
LaCour is the first of eight victims to be publicly identified, and the identification comes a full day after the shooting took place.
Children were among the eight killed in the rampage that saw more than 100 bullets fired. Seven were pronounced at the scene and two in hospital.
In addition, firefighters transported nine victims to local hospitals, but officials say more may have been taken by other agencies.
As of Sunday afternoon, three victims are in critical condition and four in stable condition, police confirmed FOX 4.
The shooter has since been identified as Mauricio Garcia, 33, who investigators believe was a white supremacist or neo-Nazi.
Garcia was shot by a police officer on Saturday afternoon.
Kellie Smith, a friend of the LaCour family, said she considered herself lucky to have “watched this sweet young boy turn into a very sweet gentleman.”
“My beautiful grandson, Christian LaCour, was the guard who died in the Allen Texas shooting. He was such a beautiful soul,” wrote Sandra Montgomer, LaCour’s grandmother
The shooter, Mauricio Garcia, was dressed in SWAT gear with a semi-automatic weapon at his side. He is seen dead outside another Allen store ten yards from the H&M store
Allen Police officers man the mobile command post the day after the gunman shot several people
A bouquet of flowers is left in front of the entrance to the Allen Premium Outlet Mall in memory of those killed in the mass shooting that occurred the day before in Allen, Texas
A man who witnessed the shooting at the mall firsthand on Saturday recalled being one of the first people on the scene – rushing to rescue his son from a clothing store where the now-deceased gunman’s attack began.
Shortly before, at around 3:30 p.m., Steven Spainhouer received a frantic phone call from his son reporting that shots had been fired outside H&M.
Images show the moment the first shots sounded, when the unknown gunman drives into the store.
Spainhouer drove there intent on saving his child’s life and explained how he got there before first responders—and faced the monumental task of trying to save lives.
“I never thought in 100 years I would be pushed into the position of being the first responder on the site to take care of people,” he told CBS News.
Spainhouer said he jumped in and tried to help victims in need.
The man said he had tried CPR and first aid, but was shocked by the severity of the situation and several casualties.
“The first girl I walked up to was crouching and covering her head in the bushes, so I felt a heartbeat, pulled her head to the side and she had no face,” he said of the first victim he encountered, a young girl .
MacKenzie Bates hugs her mother Rochelle where flowers were left at the scene of the shooting
Multiple casualties have been reported after an active gunman opened fire on an outdoor mall – with one of the gunmen now reportedly dead and another still at large
Dashcam video showed gunman Mauricio Garcia getting out of a car on Saturday afternoon and firing at people on the sidewalk. More than three dozen shots were heard as the vehicle recording the video drove away.
Garcia used an AR-15 style weapon during the mass shooting and was dressed in full tactical SWAT gear.
Fire Chief Jonathan Boyd van Allen confirmed that seven people died at the scene, including the gunman, and then two more victims died in hospital.
Three of the injured were in critical condition by evening and four were stable, Boyd said in an update Saturday night.
A medical group in the Dallas area said it was treating victims as young as five.
Investigators have confirmed they believe gunman Garcia worked alone, but they have not yet released a motive for the killings.
Fontayne Payton, 35, was at H&M when he heard the sound of gunfire through his headphones. He said, ‘It was so loud, it sounded like it was outside.
“I pray they weren’t kids, but they looked like kids,” he said.
The bodies were covered with white towels and lying over bags on the floor. “It broke me when I walked out to see that.”