Several people were killed and injured in a shooting spree at a shopping mall in Texas. Now details about the suspect have been published.
Update from May 8, 10:15 a.m.: According to media reports, the alleged shooter in the rampage in a shopping mall in the US state of Texas was a 33-year-old man. This was reported by CNN and Fox News, citing investigators.
The Washington Post reported, among other things, that the man had lived in a hotel in the area and had several weapons with him during the attack. More ammunition was found in the hotel. Among other things, the investigators followed up on indications of a possible right-wing extremist background, it is said. He could therefore have connections to the neo-Nazi scene. However, the investigation is still in its infancy, and the motive of the perpetrator has not yet been conclusively clarified.
In a shooting spree in a busy shopping center in the city of Allen near Dallas, the suspected shooter had killed eight people on Saturday before he was shot by a police officer. Several people were injured.
US President Joe Biden announced on Sunday that children were among the fatalities. Exact details about the victims were not initially known, nor about the background to the crime. At first, the local authorities revealed only sparse information. According to the president, the attacker used an AR-15 assault rifle in the attack. This weapon is particularly frequently used in mass shootings in the United States.
In a shooting spree at a shopping center in Texas, a man shoots nine people – including children. © Smiley N. Pool/dpa
Nine dead after rampage in shopping mall in Texas: "Pure chaos, people screamed for help"
Update from May 7, 13:48 p.m.: After the shooting spree in a shopping center in Allen in the US state of Texas, seven people are still in hospital. Of these, three are said to be in critical condition. The youngest injured is said to be five years old, the oldest 61 years old. Meanwhile, the background to the crime remains unclear. The events are described by witnesses as "pure chaos". "People were screaming for help, calling for ambulances while police officers drove by and searched for the shooter," a witness told the Dallas Morning News.
Videos of the attack show a man dressed in black getting out of a silver car in the mall's parking lot and apparently shooting at people on the sidewalk. Witnesses reported that he may have been wearing a bulletproof vest. Other witnesses recall hearing dozens of gunshots.
The shopping centre is a sprawling outlet with around 120 shops and restaurants. The town of Allen is located about 40 kilometers from Dallas and has more than 100,000 inhabitants. Guns are readily available in the U.S., so gun attacks have long been a problem in the U.S.
Shooting spree in Texas – nine dead and seven injured after shots fired in shopping mall
First report from 07 May at 08.43 a.m.: Allen – A shooting spree occurred at a shopping mall in Allen, a suburb of Dallas, on Saturday (May 06), leaving several dead and injured. The shooter had shot at the visitors of the shopping center in the afternoon and killed seven people at the scene, according to fire chief Jonathan Boyd. Nine other people were taken to hospital, two of whom succumbed to their injuries. As reported by the US news channel CNN, some of the victims are only five years old.
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Around 15:30 p.m. local time, the first shots are said to have been fired in the "Allen Premium Outlets" shopping center. According to police chief Brian Harvey, a police officer was already on the scene at the time due to another case. This policeman noticed the shots, killed the suspect and then called the emergency services.
After shots were fired at a shopping mall in Texas, all stores were searched by police officers. © LM Otero/dpa
Texas Governor Greg Abbott called the gun attack an "unspeakable tragedy." As a representative of the White House announced, US President Joe Biden has already been informed about the incident in the shopping center.
Police search shops after shooting spree in ice cream mall in Texas – chaotic scenes
Initially, the authorities assumed that there could possibly be a second shooter, CNN said. Therefore, police officers combed through the shops of the shopping center. Photos and video footage show visitors and employees rushing to the parking lots in fear. Meanwhile, Harvey announced that the police are assuming a lone perpetrator.
Jaynal Pervez, a father who rushed there from the mall after receiving a call from his daughter, told CNN: "Nowhere is it safe anymore. I don't know what to do." Pervez later told CBS that chaotic scenes had taken place in the parking lot. "Shoes were lying around, people's cell phones were lying on the street."
Shooting spree in ice cream shopping center in Texas – repeated attacks with firearms
In the United States, there are always gun attacks with many injured and dead. There are more firearms than inhabitants in the country. In 2021, about 49,000 people died from the use of firearms, compared to 2020,45 in 000.
According to the website Gun Violence Archive, there have already been more than 195 gun attacks this year, in which four or more people have been injured or killed. But even in Germany, there are repeated attacks with firearms, such as a rampage in Hamburg in March. (Kiba/dpa)