(Reuters) -Several people, including children were injured on Saturday in a shooting outside of a busy suburban Dallas mall and a suspect was dead, local media reported.
There was no word on the number of people injured or their condition at the Allen Premium Outlets mall where the shooting took place about 25 miles (40 km) northeast of Dallas.
Multiple people were wounded and the shooter was dead at the scene, local ABC affiliate WFAA TV reported, citing the Collin County Sheriff.
“He pretty much was walking down the sidewalk just … shooting his gun outside,” an eyewitness told the station. “He was just shooting his gun everywhere for the most part.”
Video footage from local media showed police officers hurrying shoppers out of the mall, with squad cars and emergency vehicles parked near entryways.
Blood could be seen on sidewalks outside the mall and white sheets covering what appeared to be bodies.
Allen Police Department and Collin County officials were not immediately available to comment.
“Law enforcement is on the scene at Allen Premium Outlets. An active investigation is underway. Please avoid the area until further update,” the Allen Police Department said in a Twitter post.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, calling the shooting an “unspeakable tragedy”, said in a written statement that the state was prepared to offer any assistance local authorities in Allen may need.
Allen, Texas, is a community of about 100,000 people.
Mass shootings have become commonplace in the United States, with at least 198 so far in 2023, the most at this point in the year since at least 2016, according to the Gun Violence Archive. The nonprofit group defines a mass shooting as any in which four or more people are wounded or killed, not including the shooter.
(Reporting by Brad Brooks in Lubbock, Texas, Moira Warburton in Washington, and Brendan O’Brien in Chicago; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Daniel Wallis)
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