Texas Governor Greg Abbott called the mass shooting an “speakable tragedy”.
Dallas:
A shooter killed nine people and wounded seven others at an outlet mall in Texas on Saturday, officials said.
Jonathan Boyd, the Dallas suburb of Allen’s fire chief, said, “(We) found seven dead people at the scene. We took nine people to the hospital … Two of them have passed away.”
Allen, Texas Chief of Police Brian Harvey said that at 3:30 p.m. (2030 IST) a police officer was at the mall on an unrelated call.
Harvey said, “He heard gunshots, went to the sound of gunfire, grabbed the suspect, and shot the suspect.” “They then also called for an ambulance.”
Allen Fire Chief Jonathan Boyd said his department “transported nine victims to area trauma facilities.”
Texas Governor Greg Abbott called the mass shooting an “speakable tragedy”.
CNN said authorities initially thought the second shooter might be at the Allen Premium Outlets, a sprawling shopping complex in the city of Allen, 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of Dallas.
Police searched through stores in the mall, and photos and drone video from the scene showed shoppers and store employees running into the parking lot.
Harvey later said that police believed the unidentified shooter, whom CNN said was wearing tactical gear, “acted alone.”
A father who arrived at the mall after his daughter, who was inside, called to tell him about the shooting also told CNN that police had informed him that there might be a second shooter.
“We saw police outside the door, and they told us we had to leave, and they’re still looking for that person,” Jaynal Parvez said, according to CNN.
“There’s no other safe place. I don’t know what to do.”
With more firearms than residents, the United States has the highest rate of gun deaths of any developed country — 49,000 in 2021, up from 45,000 a year earlier.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been more than 195 mass shootings — defined as those injuring or killing four or more people — in the United States so far this year.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)