Nine dead in Allen, Texas, shopping mall mass shooting; shooter dead

Mass shooting at an outlet mall in Allen, Texas, near Dallas, an apparently deranged man pulled out a gun and started firing in all directions, killing at least nine people, before police shot him dead, CNN reported Sunday.

Authorities in Allen responded to the afternoon shooting at Allen Premium Outlets, sending the shoppers and workers to run for cover. They were told that an active shooter was on a rampage in the shopping mall.

The Allen outlet mall shooting left several others injured and victims were rushed to trauma facilities, officials said Saturday night. The gunman thought to have acted alone, was killed by police in a shootout.

Allen, Texas, Fire Chief Jonathan Boyd said that at least nine people were sent to hospitals. “Of those that we transported, two have since died. Three are in critical surgery, and four are stable,” said Boyd.

According to Allen Police Department, one of its officers was in the mall to address a different complaint, when gunshots rang around 3:30 p.m.

"That officer "engaged the suspect and neutralised the threat," police said.

A Dallas-area medical group says it was treating victims as young as 5 years old.

The gunman, whom authorities said was not assisted by anyone and whose motive was not yet known, was killed by a police officer after he began firing outside of the Allen Premium Outlets mall in Allen, Texas, the city's police chief Brian Harvey said at a press conference.

Video footage circulating online showed the shooter getting out of a sedan in the mall´s parking lot before opening fire on people walking nearby.

The identity of the shooter was not released. His body, sprawled on a sidewalk, was one of seven deaths at the mall when more police arrived.

Two others died in the hospital while "three are in critical surgery, and four are stable," said Allen fire chief Jonathan Boyd.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott called the mass shooting an "unspeakable tragedy."

President Joe Biden "has been briefed on the shooting," a White House official told reporters.

Local officials hailed the actions of the police officer who charged and killed the shooter.

"We owe a debt of gratitude to first responders that ran toward the gunfire and acted swiftly to neutralize the threat," said Keith Self, a Republican congressman whose district includes the city of Allen.

Authorities believed initially that a second shooter might be on the loose. As police combed through stores in the mall, frantic shoppers and store employees rushed into parking lots.

Harvey later said police believe the unidentified shooter, who CNN said was wearing tactical gear, "acted alone."

Janet St. James, a spokesperson for Medical City Healthcare, which operates multiple trauma facilities in North Texas, said it received eight patients from the shooting, ranging in age from five to 61, NBC News reported.

"Allen is a proud and safe city which makes today´s senseless act of violence even more shocking," Mayor Ken Fulk said in a statement.

"I want to commend our police and fire departments for their quick response. Their thorough training not to hesitate to move toward the threat likely saved more lives today."