At least eight people have been killed and seven injured after a shooting at an outdoor shopping mall in Texas.
The gunman stepped out of a silver sedan and began firing indiscriminately at people outside of the Allen Premier Outlets mall in the city of Allen on Saturday.
Police said they shot the gunman dead and believe he acted alone.
Allen Fire Chief Jonathan Boyd said nine victims were taken to local hospitals, but two of them died.
Three of the wounded were in critical condition in the evening, Boyd said, and four were stable. The injured victims are aged from five to 61.
A local police officer was in the area on an unrelated call when he heard shots at 3.36 pm, the police department wrote on Facebook.
“The officer engaged the suspect and neutralised the threat. He then called for emergency personnel,” it added.
Collin County Judge Chris Hill, the top elected official in the county where Allen sits, praised police and other first responders at a press conference, but expressed deep anger with “those that would do evil in our community, in our backyard”.
Aerial TV images showed hundreds of people walking out of the mall, located about 25 miles east of Dallas, after the violence unfolded, with many holding their hands up as police stood guard.
One unidentified eyewitness told local ABC affiliate WFAA TV that the gunman was “walking down the sidewalk just ... shooting his gun outside,” and that “he was just shooting his gun everywhere for the most part”.
Blood could be seen on sidewalks outside the mall and white sheets covering what appeared to be bodies.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott called the shooting an “unspeakable tragedy” and said the state was prepared to offer any assistance local authorities may need.
