It took just four minutes for Texas mall shooter Mauricio Garcia to kill eight people and wound seven others when he opened fire in the parking lot at the Allen Premium Outlets mall in Allen on Saturday.
A timeline from police and eyewitnesses offers a look at how the shocking shooting broke out, when the gunman was killed by responding officers, and the chaotic aftermath.
3:36 p.m.: Garcia, 33, arrives at the mall outside an H&M store in a gray Dodge Charger, wearing a tactical vest and armed with an automatic assault rifle.
Garcia fires into the crowd of shoppers, killing five adults and three children. The hail of bullets also left seven others injured.
The attack occurred when the mall was typically at its most crowded on Saturdays, according to Google data that was shared by the gunman weeks prior to the shooting on social media.
At the time of the shooting, an Allen Police Department officer was at the mall responding to a call about an unrelated case.
3:37 p.m.: The officer, who has asked for his privacy to be respected in the aftermath of the bloodbath, makes a frantic call for backup as he dashes toward the sounds of gunfire. He yells that people are running away from an active shooter.
3:40 p.m.: The Allen Police Department confirms that the responding officer was able to neutralize Garcia and put an end to the carnage.
Steven Spainhouer, an Army veteran and former cop, also rushed to the scene after his son, who works at the H&M, called him about the gunfire. Spainhouer tried to perform CPR on three victims but was unable to save any of them.
Despite the heartbreak over the three victims, one of which was a little girl, Spainhouser was able to rescue a blood-soaked child who survived the violence by taking shelter underneath his slain mother.
4:22 p.m.: First responders were out in full force at the mall and began evacuating shoppers and those who took shelter inside the outlet.
4:55 p.m.: A news chopper flying over the mall showed footage of at least four white sheets covering the bodies of the victims outside the H&M.
5:00 p.m.: A crowd of hundreds of people were seen walking out of the outlet with their hands up as police officers led the procession and promised to reunite shoppers with their parked cars at a later time.
11:53 p.m.: Police and FBI agents searched for evidence at a home in Northeast Dallas that belonged to Garcia’s parents, and where he had been spotted in recent weeks.
Officials also searched a motel room at the Budget Suites of America in Dallas where Garcia had booked an extended stay.
Some time after Garcia was killed, a Youtube video from an account officials believed to be his was automatically uploaded.
In the video, Garcia removes a Scream mask to reveal his face as he asks the viewers: “Not quite what you were expecting, huh?”