Multiple people shot at Dallas-area outlet mall; gunman dead

A gunman shot multiple people at an outlet mall in the Dallas suburb of Allen Texas on Saturday killing an unknown number and sending hundreds of shoppers fleeing in panic in the latest gun violence to strike the country officials saidCalls reporting gunshots came in about 340 pm local time from the Allen Premium OutletsWitnesses told The Associated Press they saw multiple victims including some who appeared to be children and that they saw a police officer and a mall security guard who appeared to be unconscious on the groundAllen police said in a Facebook post that nine victims had been taken to hospitals Medical City Healthcare a Dallasarea hospital system said in a written statement it was treating eight between the ages of 5 and 61 Their conditions were unknownAn Allen Police officer was in the area on an unrelated call when the officer heard gunshots at Allen Premium Outlets at 336 pm the police department wrote on FacebookAlso Read US Two Indianorigin brothers killed compatriot heldThe officer engaged the suspect and neutralized the threat He then called for emergency personnel Nine victims were transported to local hospitals by Allen Fire Department the agency wrote in the Facebook post There is no longer an active threatUS Rep Keith Self who represents the area that includes the mall said he had confirmed with law enforcement that the shooter is dead and that there was no one else involved in the attackA crowd of hundreds of people who had been shopping stood outside across the street from the mall Saturday evening Officers circulated among them asking if anyone had seen what happenedFontayne Payton 35 was at HampM when he heard the sound of gunshots through the headphones he was wearingIt was so loud it sounded like it was right outside Payton saidPeople in the store scattered before employees ushered the group into the fitting rooms and then a lockable back room he said When they were given the allclear to leave Payton saw the store had broken windows and a trail of blood to the door Discarded sandals and bloodied clothes were laying nearbyOnce outside Payton saw bodiesI pray it wasnt kids but it looked like kids he said The bodies were covered in white towels slumped over bags on the ground he saidIt broke me when I walked out to see that he saidFurther away he saw the body of a heavyset man wearing all black He assumed it was the shooter Payton said because unlike the other bodies it had not been covered upStan and Mary Ann Greene were browsing in the Columbia sportswear store when the shooting startedWe had just gotten in just a couple minutes earlier and we just heard a lot of loud popping Mary Ann Greene told The Associated Press I said Was that gunfireEmployees immediately rolled down the security gate and brought everyone to the rear of the store until police arrived and escorted them out the Greenes saidEber Romero was at the Under Armour store when a cashier mentioned that there was a shootingAs he left the store Romero said the mall appeared empty and all the shops had their security gates down That is when he started seeing broken glass and people who had been shot on the floorVideo shared on social media showed people running through a parking lot while gunfire could be heardMore than 30 police cruisers with lights flashing were blocking an entrance to the mall with multiple ambulances on the sceneA live aerial broadcast from the news station showed armoUred trucks and other law enforcement vehicles stationed outside the sprawling outdoor mallAmbulances from several neighboring cities responded to the sceneThe Dallas office of the US Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives also respondedAllen a suburb about 40 kilometers north of downtown Dallas has roughly 105000 residents