A shooting at the Allen Premium Outlets, a popular shopping mall near Dallas, has left eight people dead and at least seven others injured. As the sound of gunshots rang out through the parking lot, shoppers ran for cover behind rows of cars. Employees and families with young children sheltered in storage areas or back hallways. A police officer who was at the mall on an unrelated call shot and killed the gunman, who was believed to be acting alone. The shooter was wearing black body armor and had an AR-15-style firearm, and several extra magazines were found in his chest gear. At least nine people were taken to trauma facilities, with two later dying from their injuries. Medical groups reported treating victims as young as five years old.
Eyewitnesses have described the horror of the shooting. Kingsley Ezeh was walking inside the mall when he saw people running and heard someone shout that there was a shooter. He saw a man holding his neck, blood dripping down, and then huddled with others in the back of a store for about an hour before being rescued by police. Other witnesses reported sheltering in place for up to two hours as police cleared the scene. Aerial footage showed hundreds of shoppers with their hands up being escorted from the mall by police and ambulances. The attack is the latest in a series of gun violence incidents across the US that have terrorized communities and disrupted daily life for many Americans.