Tag Archive for: texas

Texas mall security guard Christian LaCour died after saving shopper

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WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT

The mall security guard who was shot and killed during the Texas massacre died after helping lead a shopper to safety and going back to try and save others — as authorities are still probing a motive in the rampage.

Christian LaCour, 20, a security guard who worked at the Allen Premium Outlets, was busy working a shift on Saturday afternoon when Mauricio Garcia, 33, opened fire on shoppers with an AR-15-style rifle.

Allen Chief of Police Brian Harvey said that in the chaos, LaCour rushed to save a person, leading them away from the gunman, who then set his sights on the security guard and killed him.

“We must acknowledge the bravery of allied security guard Christian LaCour, who evacuated one individual to safety and was shot while courageously remaining to help others,” Harvey said during a news conference Tuesday.

LaCour, of Farmersville, was the first victim publicly identified by family, who described him as a “beautiful soul” and a “very sweet gentleman.”

“Words can not even begin to describe the devastation that our family feels,” Kellie Smith, the mother of LaCour’s sister-in-law wrote.

“There will forever be a void.”


Security guard Christian LaCour, 20, was shot and killed during Saturday's massacre.
Security guard Christian LaCour, 20, was shot and killed during Saturday’s massacre.
Kellie Smith/Facebook

Gunman Mauricio Garcia (right) was shot and killed by an officer shortly after he opened fire on shoppers.
Gunman Mauricio Garcia (right) was shot and killed by an officer shortly after he opened fire on shoppers.

Meanwhile, the family of another victim, Aishwarya Thatikonda, said the died chasing the American dream.

Thatikonda, 26, an engineer at Perfect General Contractors, in Frisco, was an immigrant from India who came to study in the US in pursuit of a better life for her and her family, a rep for the family told CNN.

She came to the US about five years ago and graduated from Eastern Michigan University in 2020 with a Masters in construction management.


Aishwarya Thatikonda, 26, was shopping at the mall when she was shot and killed.
Aishwarya Thatikonda, 26, was shopping at the mall when she was shot and killed.
AP

Her boss, Srinivas Chaluvadi, said she was like a daughter to him and was well-known in Frisco and neighboring communities. He touted the slain engineer as someone he was mentoring to take over his…

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Tesla Fire Sale in China Fails: Buyers Ignore The Texas Discount Brand

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Recently the Tesla CEO has tried to argue the market with the most buyers in the world is completely hostile to his brand.

You’d think he was talking about China.

He has been repeatedly throwing bigger and bigger discounts there to try and find someone interested in buying his old and sagging cars.

Tesla cut prices in China for the second time in three months, as demand for its cars falters. Elon Musk’s EV maker discounted its cars by up to 13.5%…

Huge price cuts and huge payouts aren’t enough, apparently; Chinese don’t like the Texas discount car brand and for good reasons.

But actually the CEO was talking about California.

…attorneys representing Tesla and Musk argue that the CEO has garnered extensive and negative publicity in California…

His augment is basically that when he does dumb things that make him unpopular (e.g. fraud, repeatedly caught lying and cheating) he should be judged only by people who he thinks like him (who he gives money).

This looks and sounds like a criminal’s getaway plan.

Beg for billions from the government of California, then beg Texas and China to take in the ill-gotten money in exchange for protection from California.

Tesla has received more than $3.2 billion worth of direct and indirect California subsidies and market mechanisms since 2009…

It reminds me of when Uber got into trouble with San Francisco authorities (due to fraud including misleading statements about safety, similar to Tesla).

They then very publicly announced their exit to “more friendly” Arizona, where they subsequently (very predictably) killed a pedestrian and were completely shut down. It never recovered, even in San Francisco.

The Tesla CEO this would be lucky to be tried for his alleged crimes in California, given its more modern justice system and long-term government investments.

Texas and China, like Arizona almost instantly flipping on Uber, have nothing to lose from sending the recently arrived outsider straight to the gallows.

China’s Bernie Madoff Was Executed for Fraud—and Nobody Told His Family

Really.

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No, Texas voting machines aren’t switching your votes

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Sensitive touch screens aren’t always user friendly and make it easy for voters to accidentally select the wrong candidate.

THE TEXAS TRIBUNE — Warnings to double-check early-voting ballots began spreading across social media this week as some Texas voters claimed that electronic voting machines had switched their votes from Democratic to Republican.

But this isn’t a case of grand conspiracy, malfeasance or rigged machines. Instead, election officials, security experts and voting rights advocates say some of the touch-sensitive screens on voting machines can be tricky to use, much like miscues while trying to use a smartphone. Midland County Election Administrator Carolyn Graves likened the experience to texting with a small keypad.

“If you don’t hit it just exactly right, you’re gonna hit one of the letters around it,” Graves said. “It’s essentially the same thing. If you don’t hit it with the tip of your finger or turn your finger to the side, then you could hit the other [choice].”

This isn’t the first election during which voters have been wary of voting machines. In 2018, Texas officials said voters were attempting to make their selections before machines could render and record their votes, causing similar concerns in the U.S. Senate race between Republican incumbent Ted Cruz and Democrat Beto O’Rourke.

“These issues have been showing up, in one form or another, since electronic voting machines were first introduced 20-plus years ago,” said Dan Wallach, a computer science professor at Rice University and longtime election security researcher. “As far as we can tell, these are simply design issues with the machines.”

So, what’s a voter to do? Election officials, security experts and voting rights advocates agree voters should carefully review their ballots to verify selections. If there is an error on a printed ballot, voters have the right to get up to two additional ballots to make…

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ETV Software's Jacky Ouin on National Computer Security Day

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