A Texas police department at the center of a recent mass shooting described an individual at the site of the shooting as not being a “credible witness” after making a number of media statements about the attack.
The attack at an outlet mall in the city earlier this month left nine people, including the shooter, dead.
The police department cited recent statements by Steven Spainhouer, who was present in the aftermath of the shooting.
Spainhouer spoke to media outlets stating that he aided the victims of the attack. While describing himself as a “gun lover,” he said that when a person is struck by “automatic weapon fire at close range, there is no opportunity for survival.”
Spainhouer, a State Democrat Executive Committee member, is more than "not credible," he absolutely lied about his actions that day. What a GHOUL. https://t.co/oFtmQRTlfd
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) May 15, 2023
He said that “it wasn’t mental health that killed these people. It was an automatic rifle with bullets.”
Since the statements, the Allen Police Department wrote a statement last week that stated that what they described as Spainhouer’s “inconsistencies” led to a “follow-up interview.”
It read that in the interview “detectives determined that Mr. Spainhouer is not a credible incident witness.”
This included an assertion that Spainhouer was not there during the shooting itself.
The tragedy in Texas led to a significant discussion in Texas and beyond over the best course of action regarding gun violence.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said that it was important to “help and support” the families of those killed and injured and to aid “the Allen community.”
The governor said that he was grateful for the “swift response” of the police officer that “did the right thing” by shooting and killing the gunman.
Abbott responded to criticism regarding Texas’ firearms laws. He said that the state had been “grappling with” issues related to violence and that the state is attempting to “get guns out of the hands out of dangerous criminals.”
He said that there has been an increased number of shootings in states with both strict and more lenient gun ownership laws.
He said that there was significant “anger” in the country and that Texas had recently added nearly “$25 billion to address mental health.”
“People want a quick solution,” the governor said. “The long-term solution here is to address the mental health issue.”
