(Washington) Police in the US state of Texas are responding to reports of an active shooter at a Dallas-area shopping mall, they said on Saturday, where several people, including children, were hit by gunfire according to local media.
A suspect has been killed and police are looking for a second shooter, according to CNN, which reports that the shooting broke out at the Allen Premium Outlets, a sprawling mall in the town of Allen, in northeast Texas.
No official communication has yet confirmed the presence of injured or dead.
Reports emerged of a shooting shortly after 3:30 p.m. local time (4:30 p.m. EST), according to local media.
PHOTO LM OTERO, ASSOCIATED PRESS
“Law enforcement is on site at the Allen Premium Outlets. An investigation is underway. Please avoid the area until further notice,” local police tweeted.
At least one suspect was killed and several people, including children, were victims of the shooting, according to comments from the local county sheriff reported by local ABC News affiliate WFAA.
According to a law enforcement source quoted by CNN, law enforcement is looking for a second shooter, and the first shooter was wearing tactical gear.
A father who arrived at the mall after being tipped off by his daughter at the scene of a shooting, told CNN that police informed him of a second shooter.
“We saw the police […] and they told us we had to leave, and they were looking for the person,” Jaynal Pervez said, according to CNN.
“There is no longer a safe place. I do not know what to do. »
With more guns than people, the United States has the highest gun death rate of any developed country: 49,000 in 2021, down from 45,000 in 2020.
The Gun Violence Archive site has already recorded this year in the United States more than 195 mass killings, that is to say where four or more people were injured or killed.