Body camera video from Allen, Texas, mall shooting shows officer chase and kill gunman

David K. Li and Lindsey Pipia
Updated ·2 min read
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Texas police released body camera video Wednesday showing an officer kindly reminding children to buckle seat belts moments before he sprinted after — and then killed — a mass shooter.

Allen Police Chief Brian Harvey praised his officer for taking decisive action May 6 when gunfire erupted at Allen Premium Outlets in an attack in which eight people were killed before the gunman was fatally shot.

“This video shows how quickly a routine interaction with the public turned into a life-and-death situation,” Harvey said in a statement. “The officer recognized the danger, ran toward the gunfire and neutralized the threat — and for his actions, the Allen community is forever grateful.”

The video, released after a grand jury Tuesday cleared the officer of any wrongdoing, showed he was by his car in the mall parking lot chatting with children and a woman when gunshots suddenly rang out.

"Make sure you wear your seat belts when Mommy's driving ... you be good," the officer said moments before gunshots could be heard.

He spotted customers fleeing before he grabbed his rifle and sprinted toward the sound of shots.

Both the unidentified officer and the shooter were in shadows. And with the body camera constantly jostling, it was difficult to see how far away the officer was when he brought down the gunman.

"Shots fired by police, I got him down," the officer screamed. "I’m over here by Lids, I got him down," he said, referring to the hat store.

He yelled for others to get away from the gunman's body, which was blurred out just outside a Fatburger restaurant.

"I got him down!" the officer said. "I think so. I'm not hearing any gunshots. Is he down? "

Another officer then confirmed the kill.

"Goddamn, bro! Got him, bro!" the shooting officer said.

The victims were Kyu Song Cho, 37; Cindy Cho, 35; James Cho, 3; Aishwarya Thatikonda, 27; Daniela Mendoza, 11; Sofia Mendoza, 8; Christian LaCour, 20; and Elio Cumana-Rivas, 32.

The killer, Mauricio Garcia, 33, was forced out of the military 15 years ago because of mental health concerns, including his difficulty coping with stressful changes, officials said.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com