US: 8 killed and 7 wounded in mass shooting in Texas
A Dallas-area medical official reports treating victims as young as 5 years old.
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Law enforcement officers at the scene of the mass shooting as shoppers were being evacuated on Sat May 6, 2023, in Allen, Texas.(AP)
A man who went on a rampage at a Texas outlet mall on Saturday killed eight people before he was himself killed, as per local authorities.
"(We) found seven deceased individuals on scene. We transported nine individuals to the hospital... Of those we transported, two have since died," said fire chief Jonathan Boyd of Allen, Texas.
The shooting triggered panic at Allen Premium Outlets, a sprawling shopping complex in Allen, 40 kilometers north of Dallas, filled with weekend shoppers.
A police officer was in the mall on an unrelated call when gunfire broke out around 3:30 pm (2030 GMT), Chief Brian Harvey of the Allen police department reported.
"He heard gunshots, went to the gunshots, engaged the suspect, and neutralized the suspect," Harvey said. "He also then called for ambulances."
The shooter's identity was kept a secret, however, it was revealed that one of the seven bodies at the mall when more police came was the shooter's, which was found by police officers on a sidewalk.
Tragic video of Aftermath of Allen Mall Texas Mass Shooting pic.twitter.com/sETlQndWLu
— MoonKing (@TheMoonKingz) May 6, 2023
Among the wounded at area hospitals, "three are in critical surgery, and four are stable," Boyd, the fire chief, said.
Some of the victims were as young as five years old, a hospital official said as quoted by NBC News.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott described the mass shooting as an "unspeakable tragedy."
CNN released video footage of the shooter exiting his automobile and starting his shooting rampage in the mall's parking lot.
BREAKING: A mass shooting has taken place at the Allen Premium Outlets mall in Allen, Texas.
— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) May 6, 2023
Details below:
- Multiple victims, which include children.
- The Shooter has been confirmed to be dead.
- The Allen Police Department, has put out the following statement: “Law… pic.twitter.com/JQbYlsuisp
At first, authorities thought a second shooter might still be at large. Shoppers and store personnel fled into parking lots in a panic as police searched the mall's shops.
Harvey later stated police believe the unidentified shooter, who CNN said was wearing tactical gear, "acted alone."
Janet St. James, a spokesperson for Medical City Healthcare, which operates multiple trauma facilities in North Texas, reported receiving eight patients from the mass shooting, ranging in age from five to 61, as per NBC news.
More mass shootings in the US than days thus far in 2023: DHS chief
There have been more mass shootings in 2023 in the United States than there have been days, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on April 21.
"We have had more mass shootings in this country in 2023 than we have days of the year," Mayorkas said at the Council of Foreign Relations.
More and more people are falling victim to mass shootings throughout the country, the DHS chief revealed.
Despite the bleak warnings accompanied by the many mass shootings, the #US is still plunged in the #gunviolence epidemic, and it doesn't seem that it will stop any time soon. pic.twitter.com/8VSQMpWGOd
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) February 22, 2023
According to Mayorkas, it is highly important for law enforcement and local communities to cooperate to prevent massacres.
The authorities have to fund and equip communities so they can determine in a timely manner whether a person is planning to take the path of violence, the secretary said.
The number of US children and teens killed by gunfire witnessed a drastic increase between 2019 and 2021, a publication by Pew Research Center revealed.
