Texas shooting: Nine killed, several injured including children, at Texas Mall; suspect dead: Reports

Dallas, May 07: According to local media reports, several people, including children, were injured in a shooting that took place outside a busy mall in suburban Dallas, Texas on Saturday. The shooting occurred at the Allen Premium Outlets mall, located around 25 miles (40 km) northeast of Dallas, but there was no immediate information on the number of people injured or their condition.

The shooter was reportedly dead at the scene, while multiple people were wounded, according to the Collin County Sheriff cited by local ABC affiliate WFAA TV. An eyewitness told the station that the shooter was "just shooting his gun everywhere for the most part," while video footage from local media showed police officers rushing to evacuate shoppers from the mall, with emergency vehicles and squad cars parked outside.

The Allen Police Department and Collin County officials were not immediately available for comment, but a Twitter post from the Allen Police Department urged people to avoid the area until further notice. Texas Governor Greg Abbott also issued a statement, calling the shooting an "unspeakable tragedy," and offering any assistance that local authorities in Allen may require.

The incident adds to the growing number of mass shootings that have become all too common in the United States, with at least 198 recorded so far in 2023, the highest number for this point in the year since at least 2016, according to the Gun Violence Archive. The organization defines a mass shooting as any in which four or more people are wounded or killed, not including the shooter.

Allen, Texas, is a community of around 100,000 people, and this latest incident underscores the need for measures to be taken to address the issue of gun violence in the United States.

- With inputs from agencies

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