Calls reporting gunshots came in about 3:40 p.m. from the Allen Premium Outlets.
Witnesses told The Associated Press they saw multiple victims, including some who appeared to be children, and that they saw a police officer and a mall security guard who appeared to be unconcious on the ground.
Allen police said in a Facebook post that nine victims had been taken to hospitals. Medical City Healthcare, a Dallas-area hospital system, said in a written statement it was treating eight between the ages of 5 and 61. Their conditions were unknown.
An Allen Police officer was in the area on an unrelated call when the officer heard gunshots at Allen Premium Outlets at 3:36 p.m, the police department wrote on Facebook.
“The officer engaged the suspect and neutralized the threat. He then called for emergency personnel. Nine victims were transported to local hospitals by Allen Fire Department,” the agency wrote in the Facebook post. “There is no longer an active threat.”
U.S. Rep. Keith Self, who represents the area that includes the mall, said he had confirmed with law enforcement that the shooter is dead, and that there was no one else involved in the attack.
A crowd of hundreds of people who had been shopping stood outside, across the street from the mall, Saturday evening. Officers circulated among them asking if anyone had seen what happened.
Fontayne Payton, 35, was at H&M when he heard the sound of gunshots through the headphones he was wearing.
With the latest mass shooting at the Allen Premium Outlets mall in Allen, Texas, we are reminded that this vicious cycle is just repeating itself yet again.
That cycles goes as follows:
- Mass shooting leaves people dead.
- Politicians either offer 'thoughts and prayers," they demand gun control, or they blame a particular group of people.
- Days or weeks go by and the news cycle changes.
- Nothing get done.
- Cycle repeats.
We aren't getting anywhere because politicians can't agree on a solution and they'd rather point fingers at one another than put an end to the cycle.
There are a lot of problems from my point of view. They include:
1) Ease of getting a gun.
2) Mental healthcare in America.
3) Too many people feel that society has let them down.
4) Too many children are being raised by parents who are too busy with other things.
5) Too many children are not taught about the damage they do when they tease other children.
There isn't just one simple fix. This is a multi-faceted issue and as Americans we should be trying to work together instead of alienate each other.
Early reports from police and witnesses said a gunman pulled up in a gray Honda Accord at the Premium Outlets in Allen, Texas, about 30 miles from downtown Dallas. The unidentified man began firing on people walking on sidewalks outside the outlet center, a popular shopping spot with many upscale stores such as Brooks Brothers, Calvin Klein and Ann Taylor.
The White House said President Biden had been briefed on the shooting and that the administration had offered support to local officials. Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has signed laws easing firearms restrictions following past mass shootings, called it an “unspeakable tragedy.”
Another database, the Gun Violence Archive, shows the Texas mass shooting is the 200th in the nation this year and the 12th in May. Mass shootings, defined as four or more people shot, differ from mass killings, defined as four or more people killed, in that many mass shootings do not involve deaths.
Since 2006, the average number of mass killings in public settings is six per year. The Allen shooting is already the sixth public mass killing of 2023. "This year has been the worst in terms of mass killings up to this point, than any year since at least 2006 and probably ever," said James Alan Fox, a professor of Criminology, Law & Public Policy at Northeastern who has studied mass killings for 40 years. "I've not seen anything like this. We have more guns in the hands of Americans. Gun sales have skyrocketed since COVID. There's a lot of divisiveness in this country, and people suffering emotionally and economically since the pandemic."
No comments:
Post a Comment