Amna: Welcome to the newshour.
Investigators in Texas are still
looking for motives in two mass
killings this weekend.
In one, a gunman north of Dallas
killed eight people before
police killed him.
Geoff: In the other, a man
driving an SUV plowed into
people waiting for a bus in
Brownsville.
The impact killed at least eight
people and critically injured
several more.
>> Good morning, everyone.
Thank you for showing up.
Geoff: Tonight, new details on
the deadly collision in
Brownsville, Texas.
Police identifying the driver
and revealed his long criminal
record.
>> George Alvarez is a
Brownsville local with an
extensive rap sheet.
He has been formally charged and
arraigned with eight counts of
manslaughter, ten counts of
aggravated assault with a deadly
weapon.
Geoff: It happened Sunday
morning when Alvarez ran a red
light and struck 18 people
waiting at a bus stop outside a
migrant center.
He tried to flee, but was
stopped by others at the scene.
Authorities say they are waiting
on a toxicology report.
The FBI is working to determine
if the crash was intentional.
An eyewitness claims Alvarez
yelled anti-immigrant slurs to
the men at the bus stop, which
police could not confirm.
They say all of the victims were
men, many from Venezuela.
>> We are working with the
Venezuelan government right now
and we have reached out to other
embassies.
Geoff: The region has seen an
influx of migrants cross the
border in recent weeks.
>> We hope they will recover
because they have families far
away who count on them.
We crossed mountains, marched,
and past migration.
It was a long way to come here,
and we fought hard.
Geoff: While the Brownsville
community dealt with the
devastation, Texas was already
reeling from another tragedy
that struck just hours before.
A gunman opened fire at a
crowded outlet mall in Allen,
Texas Saturday evening killing
at least eight people.
A police officer already on the
scene fatally shot the gunman.
Authorities have not released a
motive as the investigation
continues.
>> I believe in the coming days,
the public will be much better
informed about why and how this
happened, and that will inform
us as Texas leaders about next
steps to take to try and prevent
crimes like this from taking
place in the future.
Geoff: According to an army
spokesperson, the gunman entered
the army in 2008, but was
terminated three months later
without completing training.
Officials report it was for an
unspecified mental health
condition.
Police say they are examining
racist social media posts they
say belonged to the gunman.
He was also wearing an insignia
on his clothing with an acronym
popular with right-wing
extremists.
The community mourned the loss
at a vigil last night.
>> We are in shock and are all
grieving together.
As the healing begins, we will
recover.
We will not let the actions of
one individual impact our
resolve.
Geoff: And this morning,
demonstrators gathered at the
Texas house of representatives
to demand action on a proposed
gun control measure.
Frequent shootings across the
country have put mass killings
on a record pace so far this
year.
>> ♪♪ Amazing grace, how sweet
the sound ♪♪
geoff: For years, Texas
lawmakers have rejected tougher
gun restrictions.
But today a Texas house panel
voted to raise the minimum age
to purchase an ar-style semi
automatic rifle from 18 to 21.
It still faces long odds to pass
the full legislature.
Ar-15's, like the one used in
Allen, Texas, have only become
more popular around the country.
And more and more, they have
been used in mass killing since
the sandy hook massacre in 2012.
In fact, ar-15's have been
involved in 10 of the country's
17 deadliest mass shootings.
The Washington post spent months
examining the rise of the ar-15
in America and the politics and
culture surrounding it.
Todd Frankel is an enterprise
reporter for the Washington post
and was part of that series.
He joins me now.
Thank you for being with us.
As investigators examine the
ideology of this Texas gunman
and piece together other
details, one thing we know is he
used an eye -- an ar-15 style
assault rifle.
Many of them were smack us --
worst massacres in the country
have the ar-15 in common.
Based on your reporting, why is
that?
Todd: Some of these shooters
have a manifesto where they say
they chose the ar-15 because it
is especially deadly.
The gun was designed as a
military weapon.
It is incredibly power, it
shoots a fast bullet, it can
carry ammo up to 30 rounds
without reloading.
It is a very effective killing
machine.
Unfortunately, most shooters are
looking for a tool like that.
Geoff: The American public has
rarely seen the carnage stemming
from ar-15's.
As you point out, oftentimes it
is because the crime scene
photos are considered too
gruesome to publish.
What does an ar-15 due to its
victims?
Todd: It shoots a very small but
very powerful, very fast bullet.
When it strikes the human body,
there is this blast affect.
Incredible damage through the
internal organs, the bones,
compared to what happens with
the nine militant Billy -- 9mm
from a handgun.
That will go through a body
without causing the same sort of
internal injuries.
We did an animation comparing
the two.
It sounds crazy to say it, but
you would much rather be shot by
a handgun with a nine millimeter
round than an ar-15 round.
We hear this from trauma
surgeons about the devastating
injuries.
It is a different weapon, it is
not the same as being shot by a
handgun.
Geoff: We talk about the history
of the weapon?
The family of its creator,
Eugene stoner, said years ago
that he never intended the gun
for civilian use, and he never
owned one himself.
When the gun first hit the
market, the NRA and other gun
rights groups were suspicious of
it and did not support it.
They didn't want it at their
trade.
What changed?
Todd: It was designed by Eugene
stoner and he designed it for
the military.
A lot of guns move away from the
military into the commercial or
consumer market.
After the weapons ban expired in
the U.S. In 2004, gun companies
were wary of the ar-15.
They saw it as a weapon of war.
They did not want to make it.
.
But eventually they saw there
was demand, and they started to
produce it.
It was a thing where everyone is
wary about mass-producing this
weapon for the public.
Geoff: Now it seems the ar-15 is
caught in this cycle.
The more it is used in
high-profile mass shootings, the
more calls there are two it.
The more calls there are two it,
the more popular it becomes.
The more people buy it, the
harder it becomes to regulate
it.
To you see it that way?
Todd: The problem gun proponents
will point out is there are so
many of these guns out there
now.
The ar-15 is the best-selling
rifle in America, which is
stunning, thinking of America as
being a country of hunting
rifles.
We are no longer that country.
We are a country of ar-15's.
That is the most popular rifle
in America.
Trying to change policy would be
very difficult.
But there was a 10 year period
from 1994 to 2004 where assault
weapons were banned.
We made it through that period.
Our different ways to look at
this problem.
It has become more of the cult
to deal with the longer it has
gone on.
Geoff: How did the ar-15 become
such an important part of their
cultural identity of a certain
group of gunowners?
Todd: Art of thought was
marketing.
Part of that was the imagery we
saw in the post 2004 period,
from Afghanistan of soldiers
coming back.
It was the weapon banned.
This idea that if you were to
own the lives, you would want to
own an ar-15.
It is the assault weapon.
To make a political point, one
side saw they could score points
by seizing on to this weapon.
It is a gun that is a symbol and
is very powerful.
The outline of it sends a
message.
Sort of replace the musket as
the icon of a certain movement.
That is -- that has made it more
difficult to talk about how to
deal with these weapons.
One side sees it as important to
America as the musket.
Geoff: Todd Frankel, enterprise
reporter for the Washington
post, thank you so much for
being with us.
Todd: Thank you.
♪♪