On Sunday, authorities announced that they are investigating potential right-wing extremist motivations behind the actions of the gunman who mercilessly killed eight individuals and injured seven others at a shopping mall in Texas.

Investigators are closely examining social media accounts believed to belong to the shooter, Mauricio Garcia, and have discovered posts expressing an interest in white supremacist and neo-Nazi ideologies.

The incident occurred on Saturday around 2 p.m. when Garcia, aged 33, used an AR-15 style assault rifle to target people at a mall in the Dallas area. The assailant was ultimately neutralized by a police officer who happened to be in close proximity.

One of the patches worn by Garcia had the abbreviation “RWDS,” which stands for “Right Wing Death Squad.” This acronym is occasionally used as a meme by right-wing extremists and white supremacist organizations.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has noted instances where members of extremist groups have been observed wearing patches with the same acronym.

The investigation of that aspect of the massacre was in its early stages, yielding scant information as of Sunday night.

“We actually don’t have a lot,” Allen Police Chief Brian Harvey said, declining further comment.

While the police have not released the names of the victims, it has been confirmed that they ranged in age from 5 to 61 years old.

Garcia mercilessly targeted several individuals who were walking along the sidewalk outside the Allen Premium Outlets mall, situated in a suburb approximately 25 miles north of Dallas. In addition to the rifle, the assailant was also armed with a handgun and was observed wearing a tactical vest, according to law enforcement officials. This tragic shooting incident prompted President Biden to renew his plea for stricter regulations on assault weapons.

According to senior law enforcement officials who spoke with NBC News, Garcia’s social media accounts contained numerous posts of a violent and extremist nature with racial or ethnic themes. They also discovered neo-Nazi and white supremacist material among the content. Notably, the posts did not garner any significant engagement in terms of “likes” or shares from other users.

These posts have prompted the police, along with the Texas Rangers, FBI, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, to investigate the case as an instance of violent extremism fueled by racial and ethnic stereotypes, as stated by the sources.