New Delhi: A shooting at a mall in Indiana left three people dead and two injured on Sunday evening after a man with a rifle opened fire in a food court before the suspect was gunned down by an armed civilian, according to the police. It is the second horrific incident of shooting in the US in less than 15 days after six people were killed at the July 4 parade shooting in Chicago. The shooter entered the Greenwood Park Mall with a rifle and several magazines of ammunition and started to fire in the food court, said Greenwood Police Department Chief Jim Ison, according to the news agency AP.
The gunman was shot down by a 22-year-old from nearby Bartholomew County, who was legally carrying a firearm at the mall, Ison added. He added that four of those hit by gunfire were females and one was a male. However, the age of those killed in the shooting is still not specified.
Greenwood, a south suburb of Indianapolis has a population of nearly 60,000. Mayor Mark Myers asked for “prayers to the victims and our first responders.” “This tragedy hits at the core of our community,” Myers said in a statement.
The police revealed that a 12-year-old girl was among the two injured, both of whom are in stable condition. The police which reached the mall at about 6 pm for reports of the shooting have recovered a suspicious backpack in a bathroom near the food court.
The recent shootings in the US including schools, churches, grocery stores, and a July Fourth parade in Highland Park, Illinois, have all sent shockwaves across the country.
“We are sickened by yet another type of incident like this in our country,” Indianapolis Assistant Chief of Police Chris Bailey said.