From severe weather and a World Series win, to gun violence and an at-times contentious legislative session, 2023 featured plenty of major headlines. Over the last two weeks of the year, KRLD is looking back at the stories that defined the year.
People who were shopping say they didn't understand what was happening at first, but people running stores took the steps they learned to deal with when they trained for active shooter situations.
An officer's body cam shows him shoot and kill the gunman, but eight other people died and seven were hurt. After the shooting, crowds of people walked around outside the outlet mall because they couldn't get back in to get their cars. One person who lives nearby siad he had family shopping there. They were OK, but he said he saw another need as everyone was standing in the sun.
He came back with crates of bottled water to hand out. Customers couldn't come back for their cars for two days, others set up crosses for the eight people who died, and people signed them and left and flowers for their families.
The mall reopened to shoppers three and a half weeks later on May 31 with a more visible presence by police and private security.
The suspect did not have a criminal history, but social media posts from the 33-year-old praised another gunman and showed he had a swastika tattoo. Police said he was wearing a patch for a white supremacist group during the shooting.
The Texas House had already started to talk about a bill introduced by Rep. Tracy King (D-Uvalde) that would have increased the age to buy a .22 caliber rifle from 18 to 21.
That bill advanced out of committee but never went further. Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said the state should instead focus on learning what led to the shooting in Allen so it could prevent the same thing from happening again.
Allen Premium Outlets is planning a permanent memorial for the victims of the shooting.
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Tell your Smart Speaker to "PLAY 1080 KRLD"
Sign Up to receive our KRLD Insider Newsletter for more news
Follow us on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube