…By Judah Olanisebee for TDPel Media.
A store worker sacrificed her life to save a group of shoppers during a shooting at the Allen Premium Outlets in Texas.
Racquel Lee, a mother of two, was one of the shoppers who sought refuge in the store’s bathroom closet, along with 12 others, including several children.
The unnamed store associate led the group to safety before leaving, and tragically died outside the store.
Lee was escorted out by the police several hours later and walked past the body of the heroic store worker who had saved their lives.
In an emotional interview with CBS News Texas, Lee tearfully spoke of her gratitude towards the store associate, who she said had saved their lives.
The shooting, carried out by 33-year-old Mauricio Garcia, left eight people dead, including children, and several others injured.
The chaos began when Garcia arrived at the H&M store in his car and opened fire, causing shoppers to flee in all directions.
Lee, who had just parked her car outside the store, heard the gunshots and ran for cover with other shoppers.
They found refuge in the store’s bathroom closet, where they desperately tried to remain quiet and avoid being found by the gunman.
They were unable to call for help as they had no service in the closet.
Garcia fired over 100 shots and had more ammunition and weapons in his car when he was shot dead by an Allen PD officer who was on the scene.
The heroic store worker’s sacrifice is one of several accounts of selfless deeds that may have saved lives during the shooting.
Steven Spainhouer, an Allen resident who witnessed the shooting, rushed to rescue his son from a clothing store where the gunman had started his attack.
He attempted to resuscitate several victims but was unsuccessful.
The shooter, who had shown a preference for neo-Nazi and white supremacist content on his social media accounts, was killed at the scene.
His identity has been confirmed, but the names of his eight victims have yet to be released.