New Delhi: A gunman opened fire Saturday at a busy mall north of Dallas, killing at least eight people and wounding seven others. City Police Chief Brian Harvey said at a news conference that the gunman, whom officials said they believed acted alone, opened fire outside the Allen Premium Outlets mall in Allen, Texas after a Killed by police officer.
Allen Fire Department Chief John Boyd told the same press conference that his department took at least nine victims with gunshot wounds to area hospitals, two of whom died.
Nine victims were transported to local hospitals by the Allen Fire Department. A multi-agency response helped secure the mall. No longer an active threat. A reunion point has been created on Chelsea Boulevard. – Allen Police Department (@Allen_Police) May 6, 2023
Medical City Healthcare, which runs 16 hospitals in the area, said in a statement that its trauma centers were treating eight injured victims, who ranged in age from 5 to 61. The hospital did not say what condition they were in.
TV aerial photos showed hundreds of people walking peacefully out of the mall, some 40 km northeast of Dallas, many with their hands up as hundreds of police stood guard after the violence began.
An unidentified eyewitness told local ABC affiliate WFAA-TV that the gunman was “walking down the sidewalk … shooting his gun out,” and that “he was just shooting his gun everywhere for the most part.” Had been.”
Blood could be seen on the pavements outside the mall and white sheets covering the bodies.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott called the shooting an “speakable tragedy” and said in a statement that the state stood ready to offer any assistance to local officials.
Allen, Texas, is a community of approximately 100,000 people.
Mass shootings have become increasingly common in the United States, with at least 198 so far in 2023, the most this year since at least 2016, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
The nonprofit group defines a mass shooting as one in which four or more people are injured or killed, including the shooter.