How the Allen, Texas Mall Shooting Unfolded

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A gunman opened fire at a crowded mall north of Dallas yesterday, killing at least eight people and wounding seven others before being shot dead, authorities said. The shooting is the second deadliest in the US this year.

Authorities did not identify the gunman but said he acted alone.

There have been 199 shootings of at least four people this year in the US, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a database. And a spate of deadly mass shootings has occurred in recent times. Last weekend outside of Houston, a gunman shot and killed five people after neighbors asked them to stop shooting in their yards.

Texas has some of the most permissive gun laws in the nation, proud to be a state with more than 1 million gun owners despite its history of mass shootings. Multiple authorities in Texas say they expect an increase in spur-of-the-moment shootings starting in September 2021, when the state begins allowing most adults to carry handguns without a license.

Yesterday’s shooting was the deadliest in Texas since the massacre of 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde in May 2022. Only in Monterey Park, California, a mass shooting in January, where a gunman killed 11 people in a ballroom, killed more people in a single shooting in the US this year.

The gunfire started around 3:30 pm at Allen Premium Outlets, an outdoor mall with more than 120 stores about 25 miles north of Dallas. Allen, a suburb of Dallas, has about 100,000 residents, and the shopping center is one of the largest in the area.

The gunman got out of the car and started shooting at people on the sidewalk, according to a video circulating online, The Dallas Morning News reported. A dozen shots rang out as he closed in on shoppers. Videos on social media also showed people running for shelter or walking through parking lots amid the loud noise.

A police officer in the mall rushed to the sound of gunfire and killed the gunman, police chief Allen said.

Witnesses described a familiar scene of pandemonium. Geoffrey Keaton was having lunch when he heard gunshots. “I knew right away,” he told The Times. “I had a baby girl under the table to protect her, and then they were loud, like she was there.”

Little is known about the victims; the authorities have not identified it. Seven people died at the mall, and two others died at the hospital. The injured ranged from 5 to 61, a hospital spokesman said. Three people are in critical condition and four are in stable condition.

Authorities have not determined the gunman’s motive.

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  • Tomorrow is a public holiday in England due to the coronation of King Charles. Financial markets will be closed.

  • This year’s Pulitzer Prize winners will be announced tomorrow.

  • Biden and congressional leaders will meet on Tuesday to discuss the debt limit.

  • The US government will release new inflation figures on Wednesday.

  • Title 42, the pandemic-era authority that allowed officials to quickly deport migrants out of the US, is due to expire on Thursday.

  • The US will let the Covid public health emergency expire on Thursday.

  • The Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, will visit the White House on Friday.

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