GREENWOOD, Ind. (AP) – Three people were shot dead and two injured Sunday evening at an Indiana mall after a man with a rifle opened fire on a food court and an armed civilian shot him dead, he said the police.
The man entered Greenwood Park Mall with a rifle and several rounds of ammunition and began firing at the food area, Greenwood Police Department Chief Jim Ison said.
A 22-year-old man from nearby Bartholomew County who was legally carrying a firearm at the mall shot and killed the gunman, Ison told a news conference.
Four of those affected by gunfire were women and a man, Ison said. He did not immediately know the specific gender or age of those who were killed.
He said between the two injured was a 12-year-old girl, both in stable condition.
Police confiscated a suspicious backpack that was in a bathroom near the dining yard, Ison said.
Officers rushed to the mall around 6 p.m. to inquire about the shooting.
“The real hero of the day is the citizen who was legally carrying a firearm in the dining area and who was able to stop the shooter almost as soon as he started,” Ison said.
The mass shooting was just the latest to upset Americans in 2022. Schools, churches, grocery stores and a July Fourth parade in Highland Park, Illinois, have become death grounds. in recent months. Still, the reality of the staggering U.S. homicide rate can often be seen more clearly in the individual deaths that rarely appear in the news.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police and many other agencies are assisting in the investigation.
“We are sick from another type of incident like this in our country,” Indianapolis Deputy Chief of Police Chris Bailey said.
There was no threat to the area Sunday night, authorities said.
Greenwood is a suburb of southern Indianapolis with a population of about 60,000. Mayor Mark Myers called for “prayers for the victims and our first perpetrators.”
“This tragedy reaches the core of our community,” Myers said in a statement.
Authorities said they will provide more details on Monday.