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A shooter at a North Texas outlet mall wounded at least nine people Saturday afternoon before he was killed by police, authorities said.
It’s not clear how many other people died in the shooting. Police said they’d have another update later Saturday. They said they had secured the area.
Fox 4 News showed aerial footage of the scene and reported multiple bloodied bodies under white tarps. The casualties appear to have included children, the Associated Press reported.
Allen Police asked for any information or footage from the shooting to be reported to the FBI. Shoppers evacuated the mall and were directed to a reunion point on the edge of the complex.
Local police responded to the shooting at Allen Premium Outlets north of Plano. Allen Police Chief Brian Harvey told reporters that a police officer “neutralized” the suspected shooter while on an unrelated call at the shopping center. Fire Chief Jon Boyd added that the fire department took nine people to the hospital, though there could be others who were injured. U.S. Rep. Keith Self, R-McKinney, who represents Allen, said in a tweet that there were “multiple casualties.”
Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement he was in contact with Allen Mayor Ken Fulk and Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw to offer “the full support of the State of Texas,” including DPS officers and Texas Rangers.
“Our hearts are with the people of Allen, Texas tonight during this unspeakable tragedy,” Abbott said in his statement.
The shooting comes only weeks before the first anniversary of the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, which prompted fresh calls for new gun safety legislation. But any new measures to restrict access to firearms has so far proven elusive this Legislative session.
The U.S. Congress passed landmark gun legislation for the first time in almost 30 years last summer in response to the shooting. Texas’s Sen. John Cornyn and Uvalde’s U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, both Republicans, took flack from their own party for championing the bill in Congress. The Texas Republican Party cited Gonzales’ vote for the bill in a censure motion against him earlier this year.
Still, both Gonzales and Cornyn have also resisted further measures for gun control, including from families of Robb Elementary students, who demanded more restrictions for semi-automatic weapons.
The gun bill invested millions of dollars toward state crisis intervention programs, strengthened background check requirements and created barriers for dating partners who have been subject to protection orders from buying guns.
Texas Democrats swiftly put the blame on Republicans who have resisted gun control legislation, with the Texas Democratic Party tweeting: “Texas Republicans allowed another mass shooting to happen in Allen, TX tonight. Malls are not safe. Schools are not safe. Public spaces are not safe. Permitless Carry is wreaking havoc amongst Texas and the country.”
State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a Democrat who represents Uvalde, tweeted: “Another mass shooting here due to Abbott and the GOP’s loose and dangerous gun laws. More blood on their hands.”
Multiple elected officials responded with calls for prayer.
“Please join Jan and me in mourning the victims of the unspeakable tragedy in Allen,” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Republican, said in a statement. “Please also join us in prayer for the victims’ families and friends along with the residents of Allen. We are grateful for our brave first responders who were deployed to stop the shooter and investigate this hideous crime.”
In response to the shooting, Self emphasized mental health, saying during an interview with CNN’s Paul Reid that “many of these situations are based on” the closures of mental health institutions. He added he wanted to “stay away from the politics” and focus on prayer for the families of the victims.
When Reid asked for his response to the common criticism that prayer is not a replacement for meaningful gun safety legislation, Self responded: “Well, those are people that don’t believe in an almighty God who is absolutely in control of our lives.”
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