In the first detailed look at police response to the mass shooting at Allen Premium Outlets, body-cam footage released Wednesday shows the moments a lone officer ran toward rapid gunfire and ended the deadly rampage.
Allen police edited the 5½ minute video to blur faces of civilians and victims.
“This video shows how quickly a routine interaction with the public turned into a life-and-death situation,” Allen Police Chief Brian Harvey said in a news release. “The officer recognized the danger, ran toward the gunfire and neutralized the threat — and for his actions, the Allen community is forever grateful.”
The officer has repeatedly declined interview requests through his attorney and his name has not been released publicly. He was cleared Tuesday of wrongdoing by a Collin County grand jury.
Gunfire erupted outside the mall May 6, killing eight people, wounding at least seven and traumatizing hundreds more. The officer whose body camera footage was released fatally shot the gunman. He was nearby on an unrelated call.
Officials have said that just before the gunfire began, the officer stopped to talk to a woman and children about seatbelt safety.
At the start of the footage, the officer’s body-worn camera is pointed down as he talks to two children in front of the mall’s Levis store.
“Make sure y’all be good, OK, and make sure you wear your seatbelts when mommy’s driving, OK?” the officer says. “You understand?”
“Yes, sir,” a child responds.
Seconds into making small talk, more than a dozen shots ring out. A woman grabs the two children as the officer calls into his radio: “145, I think we’ve got shots fired at the outlet mall.”
Roughly five more shots echo in the distance. People scream as the officer adds, “We’ve got people running” and reaches into his car to grab a rifle.
“Get going, get going, get moving!” he yells as he runs toward the shots.
Cars pass in front of him, honking, as they attempt to leave the parking lot: “Go, go, go get moving! … Get out of here!” he says.
Once he reaches the Polo Ralph Lauren store, another round of shots rings out. Sirens begin to fill the air.
“They’re still shooting,” the officer says into his radio. “I’m on foot, I need everybody I got.”
Someone yells, “He’s going this way,” to which the officer responds “yes!”
The first time the officer classifies the gunfire as a mass shooting is when he walks by H&M, where multiple bodies were blurred on the ground outside the store.
“We’ve got people coming,” he says.
A blurred figure appears at the corner of the building and the officer yells “Drop it!” multiple times and points his gun. The figure moves quickly out of view. It’s unclear whether the figure was a civilian or the gunman.
“I’m passing the injured,” the officer says, breathing heavily.
At least three more shots ring out in the distance and the officer says, “I’m moving as fast as I can trying to get over there.”
He passes another blurred figure lying on the ground as gunshots sound in the distance. The officer then stops in front of Watch Station. “I don’t know where he’s at.”
Three more shots ring out. He hurriedly adds, “actually he’s still going.”
A rapid volley of gunfire echoes.
The officer moves forward, panting, then runs as gunfire continues.
He stops. The officer aims his gun and then fires more than 10 shots.
“Shots fired by police, I got him down!” he yells.
He fires two more shots and screams, “Drop the gun!”
The sirens grow louder. The officer repeats that the gunman is down and moves slowly toward him.
“Get away from there! Get away from there! Get away!” he screams.
He calls out over his radio, “I’m by Sunglass Hut, I’m moving up on him.”
“Watch your fire, I got him down.”
Another voice, likely an officer who recently arrived, calls out.
“I think so … I’m not hearing any gunshots,” the original officer responds. Then he questions himself: “Is he down?”
When the other officer confirms, the first officer says, “God damn, bro” and exhales loudly.
As he moves forward, the footage reveals the first sight of another law-enforcement officer at the mall.
The footage ends as the officers hover over the body of the gunman, who is bleeding on the sidewalk in front of Fatburger.
“We got him.”
