DALLAS — Mass killings have almost become commonplace in our country. It seems like every time you turn on the TV, there's another one. If you’re like us, you are probably asking, “How many does this make?”
The mass shooting at the Allen outlet mall was the second in the nation in four days, and the eighth in less than a month – two of those were in Texas.
Editor's note: The main video in this story is from an earlier report about the status of gun reform in Texas.
USA Today along with Northeastern University and The Associated Press took a deeper look into mass killing across the country since 2006 from all weapons in which four or more people, excluding the accused killers, died within a 24-hours of the incidents.
We took that data and narrowed it down to the state of Texas.
How many mass killings have there been in Texas?
Since 2007, 297 people have died in 47 mass killings in Texas alone. All but three incidents were shootings. While a few were committed during drug deals or considered to be gang-related, most happened in places we are supposed to feel safe: home, school, stores, and even churches.
These incidents aren't exclusive to big cities. The last two shootings in the Lone Star State happened in a small town near Cleveland, Texas, about 50 miles north of Houston, and in Allen, a suburb just north of Dallas.
Recent mass shootings
Texas recently experienced two mass shootings in nine days. Combined, 13 people were killed and seven others were injured.
On May 6, eight people lost their lives, and the lone gunman was killed in a shooting at Allen Premium Outlets. A statement from President Joe Biden said Mauricio Garcia, 33, was "in tactical gear armed with an AR-15 style assault weapon" when he opened fire.
Of the eight victims, two have been identified, 20-year-old Christian LaCour and Aishwarya Thatikonda, whose age was not immediately known. The other six victims had not been officially identified by law enforcement as of Monday, but Biden said in a statement Sunday that the victims included children.
RELATED: What we know about the victims
According to a search warrant obtained exclusively by WFAA, investigators found several handguns, long guns and ammunition inside Garcia's grey 2014 Dodge Charger at the scene of the shooting.
The warrant did not list the weapon that was used.
An Army official confirmed to WFAA that Garcia had been in the U.S. Army in 2008 but was removed due to mental health concerns. Sources added that he espoused an extremist right-wing ideology and disliked people of color and Jews.
According to sources, Garcia was a licensed security guard. He most recently worked at an aluminum supply company.
Just nine days before the Allen killings, on April 28, five people were shot to death in San Jacinto County by a neighbor armed with an AR-style rifle, investigators said. A 9-year-old boy was among those victims.
According to authorities, the shooting happened after the family next door asked Francisco Oropeza, 38, to stop firing rounds in his yard because they were trying to sleep. After several days on the run, Oropeza was arrested a charged in connection with the killings.
Fifteen people were in the house when the accused shooter Oropeza opened fire. Only 10 made it out alive.
Survivor Wilson Garcia said that in the neighborhood of homes on 1-acre lots, he could see Oropeza on his front porch but couldn’t tell what he was doing. About 20 minutes after he walked back from Oropeza's house, Oropeza started running toward him and reloading.
Oropeza walked up to the home and began firing, officials said.
Four of the victims -- Jonathan Cáceres, 18, Diana Velásquez, 21, Sonia Guzmán, 28, and Obdulia Molina, 31 -- were pronounced dead at the scene. Nine-year-old Daniel Enrique Lazo died at a hospital.
Four days later, tips from the public led to Oropeza's arrest.
A timeline: Mass killings in Texas since 2007
For more than a decade, mass killings remained steady in Texas -- an average of three per year. In, 2022 we had the most mass killings in a year with six incidents and 39 deaths. If we continue at the rate we've started in 2023, we'll break that record. The following timeline outlines each mass killing to include when and where it happened as well as how many lives were taken and how many were lucky enough to survive.
Explore the data
Editor's note: The Associated Press, Northeastern University and USA TODAY contributed to the data in this story. This will be updated as more data is obtained.