AAPI Victory Alliance Sends Letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland Requesting Investigation into the Allen, Texas Shooting

WASHINGTON (june 15, 2023)- Today, AAPI Victory Alliance sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland calling on the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) to conduct investigations into the mass shooting on May 6, 2023 at the Allen Premium Outlet Mall in Allen, Texas as a racially-motivated crime.

AAPI Victory Alliance Executive Director Varun Nikore issued the following statement:

“Hate crimes against AAPIs have been on the rise, and this recent shooting in Allen, Texas is yet another example of the violence and discrimination that our community faces,” said Varun Nikore, Executive Director of the AAPI Victory Alliance.

“We urge the DOJ to fully investigate this incident and to appropriately classify the motives of the gunman as various media reports suggest the suspect Mauricio Garcia was a neo-Nazi who held anti-Asian beliefs.

“We also have no confidence in the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) because it has exhibited a pattern of concerning behavior that leads us to believe DPS and local authorities may be unable to conduct impartial investigations. In May 2022, when 3 Korean women were shot in a Dallas hair salon, local authorities and DPS immediately dismissed concerns about racially motivated bias as motivation. It was not until after the Asian American community rallied that officials began seriously investigating the Dallas shooting as racially-motivated. The suspect in this shooting was later indicted on hate crimes charges.”