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.
.@ATFDallas ATF personnel are responding to the active shooter incident at Allen Premium Outlets in Allen, TX. Allen Police Department is the point of contact and will release more information as it becomes available. pic.twitter.com/ntQXLIK4bs
— ATF Dallas (@ATFDallas) May 6, 2023
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.
Police chief Brian Harvey said at a Saturday evening presser that a police officer was on an unrelated call nearby when gunshots erupted at Allen Premium Outlets at 3:36 p.m.
The officer "engaged the suspect and neutralized the threat," according to police. A law enforcement source told Fox News that the suspected shooter is dead.
Harvey said that nine people were transported to local hospitals, but it is unknown how many were killed. Local outlet WFAA-TV reported that the victims included children, though Fox News has not independently confirmed that.
The ATF Dallas Field Division announced that it was responding to an active shooting situation on Twitter earlier on Saturday. FBI officials were also on scene.
A mother who was at the mall with her daughter said she heard popping noises and saw sparks flying.
"We were outside the Converse store and we just heard all this popping," Elaine Penicaro explained to FOX 4. "We kind of all just stopped, and then a second later, just 'Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop,' and there were sparks flying like it was right in front of us."
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