Array
Hundreds of terrified shoppers fled in panic after a gunman stepped out of a sedan and opened fire at a Dallas-area outlet mall, killing eight people and wounding seven before being killed by a police officer who happened to be nearby, authorities said.
Saturday’s shooting in Allen, Texas, was the latest eruption of gun violence in the U.S., which has seen an unprecedented pace of mass killings this year. Barely a week before, five people were fatally shot in Cleveland, Texas, after a neighbor asked a man to stop firing his weapon while a baby slept, authorities said.
A 16-year-old pretzel stand employee, Maxwell Gum, described a virtual stampede of shoppers. He and others sheltered in a storage room.
“We started running. Kids were getting trampled,” Gum said. “My co-worker picked up a 4-year-old girl and gave her to her parents.”
Dashcam video circulating online showed the gunman getting out of a car and shooting at people on the sidewalk. More than three dozen shots could be heard as the vehicle that was recording the video drove off.
Allen Fire Chief Jonathan Boyd said seven people, including the shooter, died at the scene. Nine victims were taken to hospitals. Two of them died.
Three of the wounded were in critical condition Saturday evening, and four were stable, Boyd said.
An Allen Police Department officer was in the area on an unrelated call when he heard shots at 3:36 p.m., the department wrote on Facebook.
“The officer engaged the suspect and neutralized the threat.
