A man who went on a rampage at a Texas outlet mall on Saturday shot dead eight people before he was himself killed, authorities said.
\n\u201c(We) found seven deceased individuals on scene. We transported nine individuals to the hospital\u2026 Of those we transported, two have since died,\u201d said fire chief Jonathan Boyd of Allen, Texas.
\nThe shooting sparked panic at Allen Premium Outlets, a sprawling shopping complex in Allen, 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of Dallas, filled with weekend shoppers.
\nA police officer was in the mall on an unrelated call when gunfire broke out around 3:30 pm (2030 GMT), said chief Brian Harvey of the Allen police department.
\n\u201cHe heard gunshots, went to the gunshots, engaged the suspect and neutralized the suspect,\u201d Harvey said. \u201cHe also then called for ambulances.\u201d
\nThe identity of the shooter was not released. His body, sprawled on a sidewalk, was one of the seven deaths at the mall when more police arrived.
\nAmong the wounded at area hospitals, \u201cthree are in critical surgery, and four are stable,\u201d Boyd, the fire chief, said.
\nSome of the victims were as young as five years old, a hospital official told NBC News.
\nTexas Governor Greg Abbott called the mass shooting an \u201cunspeakable tragedy.\u201d
\nUS President Joe Biden \u201chas been briefed on the shooting,\u201d a White House official told reporters.
\nLocal officials hailed the actions of the police officer who charged and killed the shooter.
\n\u201cWe owe a debt of gratitude to first responders that ran toward the gunfire and acted swiftly to neutralize the threat,\u201d said Keith Self, a Republican congressman whose district includes the city of Allen.
\nVideo footage aired by CNN showed the shooter getting out of a sedan in the parking lot of the mall, and beginning his rampage.
\nAuthorities believed initially that a second shooter might be on the loose. As police combed through stores in the mall, frantic shoppers and store employees rushed into parking lots.
\nHarvey later said police believe the unidentified shooter, who CNN said was wearing tactical gear, \u201cacted alone.\u201d
\nJanet St. James, a spokesperson for Medical City Healthcare, which operates multiple trauma facilities in North Texas, said it received eight patients from the shooting, ranging in age from five to 61, NBC News reported.
\nA father who arrived at the mall after his daughter, who was inside, phoned to tell him about the shooting, also told CNN that police had informed him there may have been a second shooter.
\n\u201cWe saw the police outside the door, and they told us we had to go, and that they are still looking for the person,\u201d Jaynal Pervez said, according to CNN.
\n\u201cThere\u2019s no more safe places. I don\u2019t know what to do.\u201d
\nPervez later told broadcaster CBS that scenes in the mall parking lot were chaotic.
\n\u201cI saw the shoes around there, people\u2019s cell phones on the street,\u201d he said.
\nWith more firearms than inhabitants, the United States has the highest rate of gun deaths of any developed country \u2013 49,000 in 2021, up from 45,000 the year before.
\nThere have been more than 195 mass shootings \u2013 defined as four or more people wounded or killed \u2013 so far this year in the United States, according to the Gun Violence Archive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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