WASHINGTON, July 17 (Reuters) – A gunman killed three people when he opened fire on the dining area of a mall outside Indianapolis on Sunday before a spectator killed the assailant, the head of Greenwood police officer Jim Ison.
Two more people were injured in the incident, which took place in the early evening at Greenwood Park Mall, the Indianapolis Star reported.
“The real hero of the day is the citizen who was legally carrying a firearm in the dining area and was able to stop the shooter almost as soon as he started,” Ison told reporters. He described the armed spectator as a 22-year-old man.
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The shooter was alone and had a rifle and several ammunition carriers, the newspaper reported.
A law enforcement officer attached a crime scene tape to a shopping cart after a shooting at a mall in the Indianapolis suburb of Greenwood, Indiana, USA, on July 17, 2022. REUTERS / Cheney Orr
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Police did not disclose the names of the victims, gunman or spectator. Shoppers and mall employees were scattered at the sound of gunfire or hid.
The shootings came amid widespread concern about the pace of U.S. shootings in schools, workplaces and public areas that usually appear in headlines.
A series of gun massacres since May at a New York grocery store, a Texas elementary school, and an Illinois Independence Day parade have renewed the fierce U.S. debate over gun regulations. Read more
The U.S. House Judiciary Committee will adopt a bill this week that would ban certain assault weapons, the panel said Friday. It is not expected to happen in the Senate. Read more
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Report by Diane Bartz; Edited by Stephen Coates
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