A gunman killed at least three people and wounded three others before being shot dead by a gun-carrying bystander at an Indiana shopping mall, police said.
The violence unfolded at the Greenwood Park Mall south of Indianapolis at around 6pm on Sunday, according to WTHR-TV.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police tweeted that its officers were assisting Greenwood police with the incident and that there were “multiple casualties,” but “no known ongoing threat.”
People inside the mall at the time of the shootings said they heard around 20 gunshots coming from the food court.
Law enforcement units are sweeping the mall to make sure there are no other wounded individuals or anyone still sheltering in place. Investigators have not yet commented on a motive behind the shooting.
“If anyone was a witness to the shooting at Greenwood Park Mall, please go to the Greenwood Police Training Center,” Greenwood Police Department posted on Facebook.
One shop worker told WRTV that she was closing the store when she heard the shooting.
“I was really, really scared. I wanted to close the gate but people kept running at me and I just kept letting people in and in and waiting but it was like really scary because I have three kids at home and I just wanted to get home,” she told the station.
“The real hero of the day is the citizen that was lawfully carrying a firearm in that food court and was able to stop the shooter almost as soon as he began,” Greenwood police chief Jim Ison told reporters. He described the armed bystander as a 22-year-old man.
The shooter was alone and had a rifle and several magazines of ammunition, according to the newspaper.
Police did not release the names of the victims, gunman or bystander. Shoppers and mall employees scattered at the sound of gunfire or hid.
The shootings occurred amid widespread concerns over the drumbeat of U.S. shootings in schools, workplaces and public areas that regularly make headlines.
A spate of gun massacres since May at a New York grocery store, a Texas elementary school and an Illinois Independence Day parade have renewed fierce US debate over gun regulations.
(With additional inputs from agencies)
