‘We started running’: 8 dead in Texas outlet mall shooting

ALLEN, Texas — Hundreds of shoppers panicked and panicked, police nearby after a gunman exited a sedan and opened fire at a Dallas-area outlet mall, killing eight and injuring seven. murdered by an officer. Said.

Saturday’s Allen, Texas shooting was the latest eruption of gun violence in the United States, which has seen an unprecedented pace of mass murder this year. Five people were shot dead after neighbors asked the men to stop shooting while they were standing, officials said.

Police did not immediately provide details about the victims at the Allen Premium Outlets, a sprawling outdoor shopping center, but witnesses reported that children were among the victims. He said he also saw an officer and a security guard at the mall appear to be unconscious on the ground.

Sixteen-year-old Maxwell Gumm, a pretzel stand employee, described a virtual rush of shoppers. He and others took refuge in a storage room.

“We started running. The kids were being trampled,” Gumm said. “A colleague of mine picked up a 4-year-old girl and gave it to her parents.”

A dash cam video circulating online showed the gunman getting out of the car and firing at people on the sidewalk. More than three dozen gunshots were heard as the vehicle recording the video drove away.

Allen Fire Chief Jonathan Boyd said seven people were killed at the scene, including the shooter. Nine victims were taken to hospital. Two of them died.

Boyd said three of the injured were in critical condition on Saturday night and four were in stable condition.

Officers from the Allen Police Department were in the area on an unrelated call when they heard gunshots at 3:36 p.m., the department wrote on Facebook.

“Cops engaged the suspect and neutralized the threat. He then called emergency personnel,” the post said.

According to a database maintained by the Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University, there has been an alarming frequency of mass murders in the United States this year, averaging about one per week.

The White House said President Biden was briefed about the shooting in Allen and the administration provided assistance to local officials. Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who signed into law to ease gun control in the wake of past shootings, called the mall attack “an unspeakable tragedy.”

A live broadcast from a news station showed armored trucks and other law enforcement vehicles outside the mall. More than 30 of his police cars with flashing lights blocked the entrance.many
Ambulances arrived at the scene in a city of 105,000 people about 25 miles north of downtown Dallas.

A video shared on social media showed people running in a parking lot amid gunshots.

Fontaine Payton, 35, was at H&M when she heard gunshots through her headphones.

“It was so loud it sounded like it was right outside,” Peyton said.

Before an employee ushered the group into the fitting room, the people in the store were scattered and then ushered into a lockable back room. I saw that it was broken and there was a blood stain all the way to the door. Abandoned sandals and bloody clothes were nearby.

Once outside, Peyton saw a dead body.

“I hope you’re not a child, but you looked like a child,” he said. The body was covered with a white towel and lay on the ground in a bag. “It broke me when I went out to see it.”

Further in the distance, I could see the body of a fat man all dressed in black. Peyton said it was uncovered, unlike other corpses, so he surmised it was the shooter.

Tarakuram Nunna, 25, and Ramakrishna Murapdi, 26, said they saw three people appear motionless on the ground, including one who appeared to be a police officer and another who appeared to be a shopping mall security guard. .

Another shopper, Sharky Mouri, 24, said he hid at Banana Republic. As he left, he saw someone who appeared to be a police officer lying unconscious next to another unconscious person outside the store.

“I saw a man with his gun lying right next to him and like he was passing out right next to him.”

Stan and Mary Ann Green were browsing at a sportswear store in Columbia when the shootings began.

Mary Ann Green told the Associated Press:

According to the Greens, employees exited a security gate and led everyone to the back of the store until police arrived and escorted them.

Ever Romero was at an Under Armor store and the cashier said there was a shooting.

When he left, the mall appeared empty and all the stores had their security gates down, Romero said. .

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Associated Press writers Gene Johnson of Seattle and Adam Kealoha Cozy of Dallas contributed to this report.

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