At least nine people were shot by a gunman who opened fire Saturday afternoon at Allen Premium Outlets, a mall in Allen, Texas, a suburb in the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area, authorities said. The shooting suspect is dead, officials said.
“There are multiple casualties,” Rep. Keith Self of Texas said in a statement, but fatalities have not yet been confirmed by law enforcement.
In a news conference Saturday night, Allen Police Chief Brian Harvey reported that an officer was on an unrelated call at about 3:36 p.m. local time when he heard gunshots, responded, and “neutralized” the shooting suspect.
“He heard gunshots, went to the gunshots, engaged the suspect and neutralized the suspect,” Harvey said.
The Collin County Sheriff’s Office also confirmed to CBS Texas that the scene had been secured and that the suspect was dead.
Nine victims were transported by paramedics to local hospitals, Allen Fire Chief Jonathan Boyd said. He did not confirm their conditions.
“There may have been others transported in private vehicles, but those are the ones that we know of,” Boyd said.
Janet St. James, a spokesperson for Medical City Healthcare, told CBS News that its trauma facilities had received eight shooting victims who ranged in age from 5 to 61 years old. She also did not confirm their conditions.
Video posted to social media captured the sound of gunfire and panic among people at the mall.
“We were in Johnson & Murphy, shopping for shoes, and we heard some pops go off, like 10,” one man told CBS Texas. “And I looked at the customer next to me, and I go, like, ‘Was that gunfire?’ And we were all like, ‘no, we don’t think so.’ We ran to the front when we heard like 20 more pops go off. And there was a guy right across, near like Francesca’s, in a full outfitted assault rifle, just shooting at people.”
“We saw bodies going down,” a woman said.
Agents with the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were on scene. Allen police asked anyone who may have cell phone video of the shooting to contact the FBI.
A White House official confirmed to CBS News that President Biden had been briefed on the shooting and was monitoring the situation.
In a statement, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said that he had “offered the full support of the state of Texas to local officials to ensure all needed assistance and resources are swiftly deployed, including DPS officers, Texas Rangers, and investigative resources.”
