A witness in the recent Allen outlet mall shooting, who was interviewed by multiple news sources after the incident, has been deemed by police as “not credible” and spreading “misinformation.”
Earlier this month, a shooting at the mall left eight victims dead, with 10 others hospitalized.
During several different interviews, McKinney resident Steven Spainhouer claimed he arrived at the scene in 20 minutes, before first responders, and immediately began performing CPR and administering first aid to victims.
Spainhouer told CBS News he “drove to Allen Premium Outlets after his son, sheltering in place inside the H&M store where he worked, called to tell him that he had heard gunfire on the property.”
He spoke of the disturbing “carnage” of the aftermath, including a little girl who “had no face” and a little boy covered “head to toe” in blood, whom he found hiding under his mother.
Spainhouer, a former Army officer, claims to “love guns” but has used this fatal incident and his firsthand account to push for legislation on gun restrictions on both the federal and state level.
“When you get hit with an automatic weapon fire at close range, there is no opportunity for survival,” Spainhouer told MSNBC. “I don’t know what the gunman’s problem was, but it wasn’t mental health that killed these people. It was an automatic rifle with bullets.”
The several testimonies Spainhouer gave to news outlets have been labeled as “dramatic” and inaccurate.
The Allen Police Department issued the following statement:
“Allen Police Department wants to inform the public of discrepancies with statements made by a witness to several media outlets. Following the shooting at Allen Premium Outlets, Mr. Steven Spainhouer of McKinney, Texas gave multiple public accounts of his actions. Inconsistencies between these public accounts and investigative facts led Allen Police Department to conduct a follow-up interview. During this interview, detectives determined that Mr. Spainhouer is not a credible incident witness.”
“Mr. Spainhouer arrived between 3:44 and 3:52 p.m. and was not first on the scene, nor was he on the property while gunfire was occurring.”
APD said the false witness “did not perform Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) or administer first aid,” nor did he “move a deceased mother who was covering a live child.”
“As inaccurate reports can be prevalent in such situations, it is essential to confirm information before sharing it. Please take note of this to prevent unintentional spreading of misinformation,” the statement concluded.
Spainhouer responded to APD’s statement on Facebook, saying he had seen it and was “hurt and disappointed.”
He claimed, “I never said I heard gunshots at the Allen Outlet Mall.”
If there were other first responders there before I showed up, I would have no way of knowing it. If the Allen Police were at the mall before me, I would have no way to know it, because they were not at the H&M Store location where most of the shooting victims were located.
“I know what I did and did not do while waiting on the Allen Police and Fire Departments,” said Spainhouer. “I know that there were individuals who were deceased and could not be treated with CPR.”
Spainhouer defended his claim that he moved a victim to reveal a young child hiding underneath her, saying he then “assisted him to a safe space away from the area.”
Avoiding responsibility, he instead called on APD to take accountability:
“Instead of targeting me on what I did or didn’t do, perhaps the Allen Police can explain why it took 20 minutes to get to the front of the H&M store, where there were injured victims, if they were already on site before I got there.
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