Joe Biden again demands action on guns after 8 killed in Texas mall rampage

The US president repeated calls for Congress to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines after another mass shooting

Gunman with an AR-15 rifle killed eight people on Saturday at Texas shopping centre, before he was killed by police

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A law enforcement officer at the scene as people are evacuated from a shopping centre where a shooting occurred Saturday, in Allen, Texas. Photo: AP

Published: 1:41am, 8 May 2023Updated: 9:53am, 8 May 2023

US President Joe Biden renewed his call for a national assault-weapons ban and other gun safety measures, a day after eight people were murdered at a Texas shopping centre in the latest mass shooting to shake the nation.

Responders, distressed witnesses and police described scenes of panic and horror north of Dallas, where video footage circulating online showed the shooter exiting a sedan in an outlet mall car park Saturday and firing with a semi-automatic rifle on people walking nearby.

An officer on an unrelated call nearby quickly responded and “neutralised” the shooter at the large facility in Allen, police said.

Seven people were pronounced dead at the scene, in addition to the shooter. Two other victims died in the hospital while “three are in critical surgery, and four are stable,” Allen fire chief Jonathan Boyd said Saturday.

The Texas Department of Public Safety identified the shooter on Sunday as Mauricio Garcia, a 33-year-old from Dallas.

“Eight Americans – including children – were killed yesterday in the latest act of gun violence to devastate our nation,” Biden said in a statement on Sunday.