Authorities said that a shooter opened fire at the Allen Premium Outlets mall in Allen, Texas, a suburb of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan region, on Saturday afternoon, killing at least eight people and injuring another seven. Officials have verified that an officer shot and killed the suspect.
Allen Fire Chief Jonathan Boyd told reporters at a press conference on Saturday night that nine casualties were taken by paramedics to nearby hospitals while another six victims were confirmed dead at the site. Boyd added that two of those who were transferred eventually passed away.
Boyd said that three of the injured people were undergoing "critical surgery," while four other people were in a stable condition. There was no instant publication of identities.
According to Allen Police Chief Brian Harvey, an officer was responding to a different incident at 3:36 p.m. local time when he heard gunshots. He then intervened and "neutralized" the suspect, who passed away at the scene.
Harvey added, "He heard gunshots, found the shootings, found the gunman, and eliminated the danger.
According to Harvey, the gunman is thought to have operated alone. Authorities refused to answer inquiries or provide any information.
According to Janet St. James, a representative for Medical City Healthcare, the trauma centres at the organization have treated at least eight gunshot victims, whose ages varied from 5 to 61.
In a previous briefing, Boyd said that while authorities were not immediately aware of them, "there may have been" other possible injured victims who were driven to hospitals "in private vehicles."
Social media users released videos that showed the mall crowd in terror and the sound of gunshots.
One guy told CBS Texas, "We were in Johnson & Murphy, looking for shoes, and we heard some pops go off, like 10." "I said, 'Was that gunfire?' as I turned to face the client next to me. And everyone of us said, "No, we don't think so." When we heard about 20 more pops, we rushed to the front. And across the street, not far from Francesca's, there was a man firing at people with an assault weapon that was fully equipped.
"We saw bodies going down," a lady said.
On the scene were agents from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. Police in Allen urged anybody who may have footage of the shooting on their phone to contact the FBI.
Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, said in a statement that he has "offered the full support of the state of Texas to local officials to ensure that all necessary assistance and resources, including DPS officers, Texas Rangers, and investigative resources, are swiftly deployed."
Republican Rep. Keith Self said in the briefing on Saturday that "we will never know how many lives were saved by the prompt efforts of our first responders. What we do know is that we must express our thanks to the first responders who sprinted in the direction of the shooting and took immediate action to eliminate the danger.
Allen Fire Chief Jonathan Boyd told reporters at a press conference on Saturday night that nine casualties were taken by paramedics to nearby hospitals while another six victims were confirmed dead at the site. Boyd added that two of those who were transferred eventually passed away.
Boyd said that three of the injured people were undergoing "critical surgery," while four other people were in a stable condition. There was no instant publication of identities.
According to Allen Police Chief Brian Harvey, an officer was responding to a different incident at 3:36 p.m. local time when he heard gunshots. He then intervened and "neutralized" the suspect, who passed away at the scene.
Harvey added, "He heard gunshots, found the shootings, found the gunman, and eliminated the danger.
According to Harvey, the gunman is thought to have operated alone. Authorities refused to answer inquiries or provide any information.
According to Janet St. James, a representative for Medical City Healthcare, the trauma centres at the organization have treated at least eight gunshot victims, whose ages varied from 5 to 61.
In a previous briefing, Boyd said that while authorities were not immediately aware of them, "there may have been" other possible injured victims who were driven to hospitals "in private vehicles."
Social media users released videos that showed the mall crowd in terror and the sound of gunshots.
One guy told CBS Texas, "We were in Johnson & Murphy, looking for shoes, and we heard some pops go off, like 10." "I said, 'Was that gunfire?' as I turned to face the client next to me. And everyone of us said, "No, we don't think so." When we heard about 20 more pops, we rushed to the front. And across the street, not far from Francesca's, there was a man firing at people with an assault weapon that was fully equipped.
"We saw bodies going down," a lady said.
On the scene were agents from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. Police in Allen urged anybody who may have footage of the shooting on their phone to contact the FBI.
Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, said in a statement that he has "offered the full support of the state of Texas to local officials to ensure that all necessary assistance and resources, including DPS officers, Texas Rangers, and investigative resources, are swiftly deployed."
Republican Rep. Keith Self said in the briefing on Saturday that "we will never know how many lives were saved by the prompt efforts of our first responders. What we do know is that we must express our thanks to the first responders who sprinted in the direction of the shooting and took immediate action to eliminate the danger.
