Indus Valley Times

TEXAS,MAY 7 : As many as eight people were killed and seven others were injured after a gunman went on a rampage at a busy mall north of Dallas on Saturday.

The shooting, which is the latest gun violence to strike the country, sent hundreds of shoppers fleeing the mall in panic. The gunman, who authorities said they believe acted alone, was killed by a police officer after he began firing outside of the Allen Premium Outlets mall in Texas, the city’s police chief Brian Harvey said at a press conference.

Allen fire department chief Jon Boyd told the same press conference that his department took at least nine victims with gunshot wounds to area hospitals.

People gather across the street from a shopping center after a shooting Saturday, May 6, 2023, in Allen, Texas

A spokesperson for Medical City Healthcare, which was treating several victims at three trauma facilities, said the ages of the injured ranged from 5 to 61.

Chief Harvey said a police officer, who was on an unrelated assignment at the outlets at the time of the shooting, heard gunfire, rushed toward it and killed the gunman.

“The officer engaged the suspect and neutralized the threat. He then called for emergency personnel. Nine victims were transported to local hospitals by Allen Fire Department,” the agency wrote in the Facebook post. “There is no longer an active threat.”

The images appearing on TV showed hundreds of people walking out of the mall after the violence broke out. People were seen coming out of the mall with their hands up as scores of police stood guard, Reuters reported.

One unidentified eyewitness told local ABC affiliate WFAA TV that the gunman was “walking down the sidewalk just … shooting his gun outside,” and that “he was just shooting his gun everywhere for the most part.”

People raise their hands as they leave a shopping center following reports of a shooting, Saturday, May 6, 2023, in Allen, Texas

Blood could be seen on sidewalks outside the mall and white sheets covering what appeared to be bodies, the report said.

Video shared on social media showed people running through a parking lot while gunfire could be heard. More than 30 police cruisers with lights flashing were blocking an entrance to the mall, with multiple ambulances on the scene.

A live aerial broadcast from the news station showed armored trucks and other law enforcement vehicles stationed outside the sprawling outdoor mall.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, calling the shooting an “unspeakable tragedy,” said in a written statement that the state was prepared to offer any assistance local authorities may need.

Mass shootings have become commonplace in the United States, with at least 198 so far in 2023, the most at this point in the year since at least 2016, according to the Gun Violence Archive. The nonprofit group defines a mass shooting as any in which four or more people are wounded or killed, not including the shooter.

-The India Today