Four dead and several wounded in mass shooting at Indiana shopping mall

Four people were killed and two were wounded in a mass shooting at a shopping mall just south of Indianapolis on Sunday evening, which ended when an armed good Samaritan took out the gunman.

Law enforcement was called to the Greenwood Park Mall in Greenwood, Indiana, just after 6 p.m. EDT to respond to reports of an active shooter. Locals on the scene began tweeting about sounds of gunfire and told reporters outside that chaos ensued as soon as the suspect began shooting, with panicked shoppers racing in different directions searching for cover.

THE OFFICE STAR CANCELS SHOW AFTER GUNMAN OPENS FIRE

One of the dead is the shooter, Greenwood Police Department Chief Jim Ison said to reporters at the scene. The shooter, identified only as an adult male, entered the mall with a rifle and several magazines of ammunition and began firing in the food court. He was taken out by an armed person, who shot the man dead.

“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,” Ison said at a briefing late Sunday.

One of the two wounded was a 12-year-old girl with a minor injury. Police said she and the other wounded person were transported to local hospitals and are both in stable condition.

Four of the victims who were hit by gunfire were female, while one was male. Ison said he did not yet know the gender or ages of those who were killed.

Witnesses reported to local journalists that they heard somewhere in the vicinity of 20-30 gunshots during the shooting.

Authorities said they believe the shooting did not occur beyond the food court. They also obtained a suspicious backpack in a bathroom near the food court, though they had yet to confirm if it belonged to the shooter.

Investigators could not yet offer a motive for the shooting.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

With the situation still unfolding, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department tweeted that it was assisting the Greenwood Police Department in responding to the shooting and cautioned those reading to: “Please avoid sharing misinformation on social media until [authorities] confirm details.”

Greenwood is an Indiana suburb located south of Indianapolis. It has a population of about 60,000 people.