Shooting in the United States: a gunman kills 8 people and wounds 7 in a mall in Texas

The gunman opened fire in a busy mall near Dallas before being shot by a police officer. This mass killing is the 199ᵉ in the country so far this year.

 

A gunman opened fire Saturday, May 6, at a Dallas-area mall in Texas, killing at least eight people and wounding seven others before being shot. The shooting took place at the Allen Premium Outlets, a large shopping center in the city of Allen, about 40 kilometers north of Dallas, which was filled with many shoppers who had come to do their weekend shopping.

 

"We found seven individuals killed at the scene. We transported nine individuals to the hospital.... Of those we transported, two have since died," Allen Fire Chief Jonathan Boyd said.

 

A police officer was in the mall on another matter when shots rang out around 3:30 p.m., said local police Chief Brian Harvey. The officer "heard gunshots, went [to the scene] of the shooting, confronted the suspect and neutralized" the individual, the local police chief reported. He subsequently called 911.

 

The identity of the shooter has not been released. His body was found lifeless when police reinforcements arrived, as were those of six other people. Of the injured transported to nearby hospitals, "three are undergoing emergency surgery and four" are in stable condition, according to the fire chief. Among those shot was a 5-year-old child, according to a hospital official cited by NBC News.

 

Texas Governor Greg Abbott lamented an "unspeakable tragedy." U.S. President Joe Biden "has been briefed on the shooting," a White House official told reporters.

 

Local officials praised the action of the officer who shot the gunman. "We owe a debt of gratitude ... to the first responders who rushed [to the scene] of the shooting and acted quickly to neutralize the threat," said Texas Republican Rep.

 

Video footage released by CNN shows the shooter getting out of a sedan in the mall parking lot and opening fire. There was initially talk of a possible second shooter, authorities said, but Brian Harvey said police believe the neutralized suspect, whose identity is not yet known, "acted alone." The shooter was wearing tactical gear, according to CNN.

 

Janet St. James, a spokeswoman for Medical City Healthcare, which operates several trauma centers in North Texas, said she received eight patients who were victims of the shooting, ranging in age from 5 to 61, NBC News reported. Jaynal Pervez, a witness interviewed by CBS who arrived at the scene after a call from his daughter, who was at the mall, said chaos ensued. "I saw shoes, people's phones in the street," he testified.

 

The Gun Violence Archive has already documented nearly 200 mass shootings in the United States this year, where four or more people have been injured or killed.