GREENWOOD, Indiana (AP) – A 20-year-old man probably mounted a rifle in the bathroom of an Indianapolis suburban mall before shooting five people in the dining area, killing three before an armed buyer shot dead, according to U.S. authorities. he said Monday.
Apparently, Jonathan Sapirman, of Greenwood, was facing eviction before opening fire at Greenwood Park Mall shortly before it closed Sunday evening, city police chief James Ison said at a news conference.
Sapirman continued to shoot people until he was killed by 22-year-old Elisjsha Dicken of Seymour, a town about 45 miles (72 kilometers) south of Greenwood, who was going shopping with his girlfriend, Ison said. , and said Dicken acted quickly. “No less heroic.”
“Many more people would have died last night had it not been for a responsible armed citizen,” the chief said, noting that authorities were still trying to determine the motive for the attack.
Johnson County and Marion County Forensic Offices identified the murdered victims as a married couple from Indianapolis: Pedro Pineda, 56, and Rosa Mirian Rivera de Pineda, 37, and Victor Gomez, 30. , also from Indianapolis. A woman and a 12-year-old girl who were hit by shrapnel were injured in the attack, police said.
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Although authorities said Dicken was legally armed, the mall prohibits people from carrying weapons on his property. The mall issued a statement Monday saying it mourns the victims and praises Dicken’s “heroic actions.” He did not mention his unarmed policy and his operator, the Simon Property Group, did not respond to a request for comment.
The image provided on Monday, July 18, 2022 by the Greenwood Police Department shows 20-year-old Jonathan Douglas Sapirman. (Greenwood Police Department via AP)
As of July 1, Indiana law allows anyone 18 years of age or older to carry a handgun in public, except those who are prohibited for reasons such as having a felony conviction, facing a warrant. of distance or having a dangerous mental illness as determined by a court. The Republican-dominated Indiana Legislature retained provisions in the law that allow private property owners to ban firearms.
Sunday’s attack was the latest in a series of mass shootings in the United States. Schools, churches, grocery stores, and a July Fourth parade near Chicago have become murder motives in recent months, though the staggering rate of murders in the United States can often be seen more clearly. country. individual murders that are rarely big headlines.
Authorities said Sunday that four of the victims were women and one man, but this Monday they corrected two men and three women.
Ison said Sapirman walked into the mall and into a bathroom, where he spent about an hour before going out and opening fire. He said investigators believe Sapirman spent that time preparing and possibly assembling a disassembled rifle he had carried in his backpack. He ended up shooting 24 meats in two minutes.
Greenwood Police Chief James Ison speaks during a press conference at Greenwood City Center in Greenwood, Indiana, Monday, July 18, 2022. (AP / Michael Conroy)
Ison said Sapirman used an AR-15-style rifle during the shooting and investigators found another in the bathroom. They also found a gun in Sapirman, which carried a waist holster and had several magazines containing more than 100 rounds of ammunition.
Although police do not know the motive for the attack, Sapirman’s relatives told investigators he recently received a notice that he was being evicted from his apartment, although Ison said authorities were still trying to confirm it. . Relatives also said Sapirman resigned from a warehouse job in May, he said.
“Right now we have no reason. His relatives we spoke to were as surprised as everyone else. They said there were no indications that he was violent or unstable,” Ison said.
The chief said Dicken fired 10 cartridges with his pistol and that while firing, Sapirman “tried to retreat to the toilet and failed and fell to the ground after receiving a shot.”
“He faced the gunman from quite a distance with a pistol and was very competent at it, very tactically solid. And as he moved to approach the suspect, he was also making a gesture for people to come out behind him,” he said. say Ison about Dicken.
Sapirman had a juvenile history, including from a fight at school and an incident in which he ran away from home, but had no criminal record as an adult, the chief said.
He said relatives told investigators that Sapirman had been practicing shooting at a gun camp and that records obtained by the Office of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives confirmed that he had frequented the camp and he had bought ammunition there for the past two years.
Ison said officers recovered a cell phone from a toilet in the mall bathroom that they believe Sapirman placed there. In Sapirman’s apartment, they found a laptop and a can of butane inside the oven, which was on and put at a high temperature, the boss said without giving further details.
FILE – Buyers leave Greenwood Park Mall on May 4, 2020 in Greenwood, Indiana. Indianapolis Metropolitan Police said several people were killed and others were injured in a shooting on Sunday, July 17, 2022 at the Greenwood Mall. (Photo by AP / Darron Cummings, file)
The cell phone and laptop, damaged by the heat of the oven, will be analyzed by the FBI, and that “we are very curious to have them analyzed,” he said.
Mark Myers, the mayor of Greenwood, a city of about 60,000 people south of Indianapolis, said the mourning community is shocked to be the scene of a mass shooting.
“I do not want to be among the mayors who have to share these statements. But unfortunately I am, “he said.” I am saddened by these senseless murders and I am hurt by the scars left on the victims and our community. “
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