ALLEN, Texas — Domestic terrorism expert Daryl Johnson is following the investigation of the Allen Premium Outlets shooting closely. He studies and analyzes people who commit mass shootings.
"It bothers me that these attacks are happening pretty frequently, but also the fact that children get caught up in the crossfire,” said Daryl Johnson.
Johnson created DT Analytics to provide a wide array of engagements for law enforcement, homeland security professionals, civic organizations, academia, faith-based communities and more, on a variety of topics related to domestic terrorism and American extremism. He's not surprised the gunman in Allen used an AR-15 and wore body armor.
"Wearing the tactical vest allows them to attach additional high capacity magazines so that they can reload very quickly and kill more people,” said Johnson. “Also, just the appearance of someone all dressed in black with these tactical gear, and having all these ammo magazines and different weapons on them is very intimidating. But it's there basically for the shooter to fight it out until the end. And a lot of these people die by suicide by cop.”
In addition to his AR-15, investigators found two handguns on the shooter and found five weapons in his car.
The mass murders in Allen, Texas has even provoked Republican State Rep. Frederick Frazer to a change of heart. In an interview with WFAA’s Teresa Woodard, Frazer, who represents Allen, shared some of his concerns.
"Why is that particular weapon the weapon of choice every time? And that's something we have to take a hard look at,” said Frazer.
A look back at mass murders includes the May 2022, Uvalde Robb Elementary shooting where an 18-year-old used two AR-15 style weapons to kill 19 students and two teachers, and injured 17 others.
In November 2017 in Sutherland Springs, Texas, inside First Baptist Church a 26-year-old man used an AR-15 military-style rifle to kill 26 people and injure 22 others.
As far back as December 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut, a 20-year-old man used an AR-15 to kill 20 students and six adults.
According to the National Institute of Justice, about 77% of mass shootings suspects used handguns, and assault rifles are used 25% of the time. Johnson's other concern is the shift in the age of mass shooters he’s seeing.
While he said he supports the Constitution and all of the rights it grants to American citizens, Johnson said he believes there is also a responsibility to make changes that could help keep all Americans safe from mass shootings in the U.S.
“Raising the age to 21 might give us enough time to intervene on that individual who's disgruntled and wants to carry out their grievance through violence,” said Daryl Johnson. "The shooters are getting younger and younger.”
Johnson said he believes one of the strongest tools to fight domestic terrorism and stop mass murders is public awareness: people reporting extremists to the proper authorities, and more importantly, families and friends willing to say something when they see something to prevent acts like what happened in Allen.