DALLAS — Over the last 48 hours, WFAA has been examining the contents of an obscure, now-deactivated social media account that appears to show how the gunman who attacked the Allen outlet mall on Saturday, May 6, scouted the location and attempted to identify peak customer traffic times to plan his mass shooting.
Law enforcement officials have confirmed to WFAA that the account our team has been reviewing is the same profile officials have also been investigating.
Officials, however, have not yet confirmed that the social media account belongs to Mauricio Garcia, the 33-year-old Army washout from Dallas who police say killed eight people -- mostly people of color -- and injured several others in a less-than-four-minute window.
The profile does, however, include his date of birth, various photographs of a person who appears to be Garcia (including a picture in front of the East Dallas home police searched after the shooting this past weekend) and references to the extended-stay motel where police say Garcia was living for the past few weeks.
The profile also includes a screenshot of a traffic citation listing Garcia as the recipient.
The first post on the profile was uploaded in April 2020. What follows are years of racist screeds, Nazi imagery, praise of mass killers and videos of someone who appears to be Garcia shooting a variety of semi-automatic rifles at gun ranges.
The account also includes at least one photo showing a patch on a tactical vest reading "RWDS," -- an acronym that stands for "Right Wing Death Squad," a phrase that far-right extremists who glorify violence against their political enemies have embraced as an identifier in recent years.
A law enforcement told ABC News that Garcia was found wearing a patch reading "RWDS" on his person at the Allen outlet mall.
The most recent post was made hours before the May 6, 2023, attack. That update included writing that appears to be a suicide note asking that the profile's user be cremated. It also included language in which the user said he was would "have the last laugh tonight" and that, even if he'd gone to a psychologist, they wouldn't be able to "fix what's wrong with me."
The social media platform hosting the profile has a ".ru" internet address, indicating it is based in Russia. Few, if any, other users appear to have interacted with any of the profile's posts prior to May 6.
There also appears to be little to no content moderation on the social media platform.
The profile's uploads include a September 2022 post which derides Asian cultures and comments on American immigration policies.
The account also includes photos of a torso with Nazi tattoos, as well as the city symbols of Dallas and Fort Worth. Law enforcement officials have described similar imagery on Garcia’s body.
The profile also includes photos and videos of weapons, ammo and body armor – alongside posts lamenting the user's ability to connect with various women, including exotic dancers.
On Feb. 4, 2023, there is a post in which the author describes going to confession for the first time.
“The Reverend said what sins have I committed,” the post reads. “I sang like a canary. I lied. And I stole. Reverend said what did I steal? Some candy and some other junk food, about 10 dollars worth. The Reverend said that I should donate 10 dollars to some charity. I told the Reverend if I could just throw that money into the collection plate. The Reverend said that works.”
After he left the confession booth, the author “split” the $10 donation. He wrote: "Half went to this pro life charity and I put the other half in the collection box."
The post continued: “This chick saw me and said I could light a candle since I made a donation.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.