“(We) found seven individuals dead at the scene. We transported nine individuals to hospital (…) Of those we transported, two have since died”said Jonathan Boyd, fire chief of Allen, a city located in northeast Texas where the shooting took place.
The killings sparked panic at the Allen Premium Outlets, a sprawling mall in the town of Allen, some 25 miles north of Dallas, filled with many shoppers who came to do their weekend shopping there.
An off-duty policeman was in the mall on another case when shots rang out around 3:30 a.m. (8:30 p.m. GMT), local police chief Brian Harvey said.
L’agent “heard gunshots, went to (scene) gunshots, faced suspect and incapacitated” individual, the local police chief reported. He immediately called for help.
The identity of the shooter has not been released. His body was found dead when police reinforcements arrived, along with those of six other people.
Among the wounded transported to nearby hospitals, “three are undergoing emergency surgery and four” are in stable condition, according to the fire chief.
Among those injured in the shooting is a five-year-old child, according to a hospital official quoted by NBC News.
State Governor Greg Abbott lamented a “unspeakable tragedy”.
US President Joe Biden “was informed of the shooting”a White House official told reporters.
Chaos
Local authorities praised the action of the police officer who shot the shooter.
“We are indebted (…) to the first responders who rushed (to the scene) from the gunfire and acted quickly to neutralize the threat”said Republican Rep. Keith Self from Texas, whose constituency includes the city of Allen.
Video footage released by CNN shows the gunman 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 incapacitated suspect, whose identity is not yet known, “acted alone”. The shooter was wearing tactical gear, according to CNN.
Janet St. James, spokeswoman for Medical City Healthcare, which operates several trauma centers in North Texas, said she saw eight patients who were victims of the shooting, ages 5 to 61, according to NBC News.
According to Jaynal Pervez, a witness interviewed by the CBS channel and who arrived on the spot after a call from his daughter, present in the mall, chaos took hold of the site.
“I saw shoes, people’s phones in the street”he testified.
With more firearms than people, the United States has the highest firearm death rate of all developed countries: 49,000 in 2021, compared to 45,000 in 2020.
The Gun Violence Archive site has already recorded this year in the United States more than 195 mass killings, that is to say where four or more people were injured or killed.
