Perry’s case has become an explosive political stew of arguments over gun rights, self-defense and racist social media posts. The governor dived in early, saying he would pardon Perry even before a judge handed down the sentence.
Criminal Justice
Get the latest Texas Tribune coverage on criminal justice, including crime, courts, law enforcement, and reforms shaping the state’s justice system.
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Guns in Texas
Deaths from firearms keep climbing in Texas, decades after lawmakers began weakening gun regulations
The rate of firearm-related deaths in Texas has reached a level not seen since the 1990s. Texas lawmakers have approved more than 100 bills that loosened gun restrictions since 2000.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Raise-the-age gun bill misses crucial deadline, as Uvalde parents protest outside the Texas House
Days after another mass shooting in Texas, the measure to raise the minimum age from 18 to 21 to purchase semi-automatic rifles appears to have failed.
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Allen Mall Shooting
Allen mall shooting alarms Asian Texans as authorities search for gunman’s motive
Four of the eight people killed in the North Texas attack were of Asian descent. Law enforcement officials said the gunman held neo-Nazi beliefs.
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Criminal Justice
Driver of SUV in Brownsville crash that killed 8 migrants had drugs in his system, police say
George Alvarez, the man charged in the deaths of eight people after his vehicle rammed a crowd in front of a Brownsville migrant shelter, had cocaine, benzodiazepines and marijuana in his system at the time, police said Tuesday.
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Allen Mall Shooting
“Right wing death squad”: What to know about the Allen shooter’s neo-Nazi views
The shooter’s “RWDS” patch offers troubling clues about his ideology — and how it connects to views that are common among white supremacists.
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Allen Mall Shooting
“Nothing bad happens here”: Allen residents say shooting has shattered the town’s sense of safety
A mass shooting at this suburb’s community hub — the outlet mall — has punctured the sense of security that drew many to Allen. “That could have been me and my boys,” one local woman said.
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The Texas Tribune-ProPublica Investigative Unit
Texas public records loophole lets cities keep suicide reports from families of dead soldiers
Texas law allows officials to withhold police records if no one was convicted in a case. At least one city has used this rule to deny the release of suicide records. A new bill aims to close this loophole.
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Texas Legislature 2023
In surprise move days after Allen mall shooting, Texas House panel OKs bill raising age to buy semi-automatic rifles
The legislation would raise the minimum age for purchasing certain firearms but likely wouldn’t have been a hindrance to the Allen gunman obtaining a weapon. The bill still faces an uphill climb in the Legislature.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Despite decades of mass shootings in Texas, legislators have failed to pass meaningful gun control laws
State lawmakers have rejected dozens of bills that would have prevented people from legally obtaining weapons used in many mass shootings. Instead, they’ve made it easier for residents to get guns and harder for local governments to regulate them.