DALLAS — Professional sports teams in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, including the Stars and Cowboys, are offering their condolences to those affected by the deadly mass shooting in Allen, Texas.
At least eight people were killed and several others were injured after a gunman opened fire on the Allen Premium Outlets mall on Saturday, May 6.
The suspect, identified as 33-year-old Mauricio Garcia, was shot and killed by an officer at the scene of the incident.
While authorities haven't officially identified the victims yet, families have slowly begun naming their lost loved ones, such as 20-year-old Christian LaCour.
Out of respect for the lost, the Dallas Stars -- currently in Seattle for two games against the Kraken in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs -- canceled their planned hometown watch party for the game on Sunday night.
Prior to the puck dropping on Game 3 in the series, head coach Peter DeBoer also directly addressed the "horrific" shooting as part of his pregame news conference.
"I want acknowledge how heartbroken we are about the mass shooting in Allen, Texas." he said. "It’s really close to home... just tragic."
DeBoer, a Canadian, mentioned how he is "tired of hearing" about these types of events, which have victims as young as 5 years old.
"I don’t pretend to know the answer on how to fix it, but it’s too great a country [with] too many intelligent people not to do something about it," he said.
DeBoer also spoke to the tragedy putting the Stars' playoff push into perspective for him, his players and the organization.
"It's tough to think about games when you wake up to headlines like that," DeBoer said. "We shop there... I don't have the words for it. There has to be some answers. Somebody has to have some answers for it."
Much like individual professional athletes from the area have already been doing, other Dallas-area teams beyond the Stars have issued statements of their own on social media, offering up their condolences.
The Texas Rangers, who are in Los Angeles as part of a West Coast road trip, posted a video of a moment of silence that occurred before Sunday afternoon's game at Angel Stadium. The team also thanked the Angels for hosting the moment.