Allen mall shooting: First responders continue dealing with emotional aftermath of May 6 mass shooting
ALLEN, Texas - A public memorial is being planned for May 6, the day a gunman took several lives and a sense of safety from the community of Allen.
That day, eight people died and nine others were hurt by gunfire at the Allen Premium Outlet Mall. All of North Texas was left shocked and saddened by another mass shooting.
The gunman was killed by a lone Allen police officer, who still does not want to be publicly identified.
The day of the shooting was on Election Day.
May 6, 2023, a mass shooting at the mall as Baine Brooks was being voted in as Allen mayor.
"Around 3:30, we received notification about what was going on at the mall, and we couldn't believe it at that moment. As far as me, I couldn't believe it," he recalled.
"What do you say to people who haven't had this experience?" asked FOX 4 Reporter Shaun Rabb.
"I would say to people that you never want to have this experience. I would say to people pray over your community," Brooks said. "I would say that bad people do bad things in good places, just be aware of that.
"I think maybe we demonstrated that being intentional with your training will reward you in the end," said Allen Police Lt. Kris Wirstrom.
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The shooter was armed with an assault-style rifle and may have held white supremacist or neo-Nazi beliefs. He was taken out by a single Allen police officer who was in another area of the mall. While visiting with a family, he heard gunshots and moved deftly to the gunfire, saving others.
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"Your officer, was it instinct or instruction?" Rabb asked.
"I think that they're the same thing," Wirstrom responded. "The goal of training is to create muscle memory so you don't have to think about it. You're on step G before you realize that you've gotten started on it, and I think that that's something that people can see for themselves when they watch the video."
Police and paramedics who arrived at the mall as well as dispatchers who answered desperate calls for help are still getting the help they need processing emotions.
"We've assisted them as much as possible, as much as we can through that process," said Allen Fire Division Chief Danny Williams. "We've paid for their visits. We're helping take care of them in the aftermath of something that was just unimaginable."
Allen had mental health programs in place prior to the tragedy: a peer-to-peer support network and a unique public safety psychology group.
"Our personnel was already used to that environment," Williams said. "They were in fact requesting it the day of the incident."
The Credit Union of Texas Allen Events Center will hold the memorial program planned for May 6.
It will be an interfaith service with the Allen High School choir singing and Allen's philharmonic orchestra playing special music written for the event.
"I hope it brings a moment where we never forget what happened, we never forget the victims, we never forget the families of the victims," Brooks said.
A moment made in four minutes that changed the community.
"There were a lot of thoughts that this would never happen here. No one really thinks about something like this happening in their community," Brooks said. "But we're stronger. Allen's stronger."
The public memorial service will be held on Monday, May 6, at 6:30 p.m.