Emergency personnel at the scene of a shooting at Allen Premium Malls. Credit: Getty Images
Bonets killed eight people and injured at least seven others in a mass shooting at a mall north of Dallas on Saturday before being shot dead by a nearby police officer, authorities said.
< p>Police said gunmen got out of a silver sedan and started shooting at people at the Allen Premium Outlets mall in Allen, Texas.
Three people were critically injured in a shooting at an open-air mall, and witnesses reported seeing children among the victims.
Some eyewitnesses said they also saw a police officer and a mall security guard lying unconscious on the ground.
The shooting was the latest episode of gun violence to hit the country, causing hundreds of shoppers to flee. panic.
"(We) found seven dead at the scene. We took nine people to the hospital… Of those we moved, two have since died.” Fire Chief Jonathan Boyd said. After the death of the shooter, the total number of deaths reached nine.
A dash cam video circulated online shows the gunman getting out of a car near a shopping mall and immediately shooting at people on the sidewalk. More than three dozen gunshots were heard as the video recording vehicle drove away.
A member of Allen's SWAT team returns to the parking lot next to the shooting site. Credit: Getty Images Shoppers leave as law enforcement officers respond to the shooting. Credit: ABC AFFILIATE WFAA/Reuters
An Allen police officer was in the area on an unrelated call when he heard gunshots at 3:36 p.m. local time, the police department wrote on Facebook.
“The officer engaged the suspect and neutralized the threat. Then he called rescuers. The Allen Fire Department transported nine victims to local hospitals,» the department said in a Facebook post.
«There is no more active threat».
The White House said that President Joe Biden had been briefed on the shooting and that the administration had offered support to local authorities. Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who signed laws to ease gun restrictions after past mass shootings, called it «an unspeakable tragedy.»
A crowd of hundreds of people who were shopping stood outside, across the street from Mall, Saturday night. Officers walked among them, asking if anyone had seen what had happened.
Several people were killed in the shooting. Credit: ABC AFFILIATE WFAA/Reuters
Fontaine Payton, 35, was at the H&M when he heard the sound of gunshots through the headphones he was wearing.
“It was so loud, it felt like it was outside,” said Mr. Payton.
People in the store fled before employees led the group into changing rooms and then into a locked back room, he said. When they were allowed to leave, Mr. Payton saw that the store's windows were broken and a trail of blood led to the door. Abandoned sandals and bloodied clothes lay nearby.
Once outside, Mr. Payton saw the bodies.
“I pray they weren’t children, but they looked like children,” he said. He. According to him, the bodies were covered with white towels and lay on bags on the ground.
“I broke down when I went out to look at this,” he said.
Maxwell Gum, a 16-year-old employee at a pretzel stand, described a virtual stampede of shoppers. He and the others took refuge in the pantry.
“We ran. Children trampled" Mr Gum said. "My colleague picked up a four-year-old girl and gave her to her parents.»
The shooting caused panic in the mall. Photo: Getty Images
Tarakram Nunna, 25, and Ramakrishna Mullapudi, 26, said they saw three people lying motionless on the ground, including one that looked like a police officer and one that looked like a mall security guard.
Another customer Sharkey Moley, 24, said he hid in a Banana Republic store at the time of the shooting. As he left, he saw an unconscious cop lying next to another unconscious man outside an outlet store.
“I saw his gun lying right next to him and a guy who seemed to be walking by. right next to him,” said Mr Mouli.
Stan and Mary Ann Green were browsing the Columbia sportswear store when the shooting started.
“We just walked in, just a couple of minutes ago, and we heard a lot of loud bangs, Mary Ann. Green told the Associated Press.
Employees immediately lowered the security gate and escorted everyone to the back of the store before police arrived and escorted them out, the Greens said.
People ran across the parking lot to the sound of gunfire. Photo: ABC AFFILIATE WFAA/Reuters
Hebert Romero was at the Under Armor store when the cashier mentioned that there had been a shooting.
Leaving the store, Mr. Romero said that the mall seemed empty and the security gates of all stores were closed. It was then that he began to see broken glass and people shot to death on the floor.
A video posted on social media shows people running in the parking lot, and gunfire is heard.
More than 30 police cars with flashing lights blocked the entrance to the mall, several ambulances arrived at the scene.
Live broadcast from the news station showed armored trucks and other law enforcement vehicles stationed outside the mall. an outdoor shopping mall.
Ambulances from several neighboring towns arrived at the scene. The Dallas office of the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives also responded.
Allen, a suburb about 25 miles north of downtown Dallas, has about 105,000 residents.
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