Texas Allen shooting latest: Nine dead including ‘monster’ shooter in massacre at shopping mall

Texas Senator Roland Gutierrez, a Democrat from Uvalde, reacted angrily to the shooting.

“There’s a special place in Hell for people who watch this all happen and choose not to do anything,” he said.

The senator shared the tweet with the hashtag #bloodontheirhands.

While police have yet to confirm the identities of the victims of the shooting, witnesses said they saw children among them.

Tarakram Nunna, 25, and Ramakrishna Mullapudi, 26, said they saw three apparently motionless people lying on the ground, including one who appeared to be a police officer and one who appeared to be a security guard at a mall.

Another shopper, Sharkie Mouli, 24, said he was hiding at a Banana Republic store during the shooting. As he was leaving, he saw an apparently unconscious police officer lying next to another unconscious person in front of the outlet store.

“I saw his gun lying right next to him and a guy passing out right next to him,” Mr Mouli said.

Outraged by another mass shooting in the US, several Democrats and other gun control advocates called for action.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said, “This is freedom?? Getting shot in a mall? shot at school? shot at church? Shot in the cinema?”

“We have become a nation more focused on the right to kill than the right to live. That’s not what the American people want,” he added.

Shannon Watts, founder of advocacy group Moms Demand Action, said the shooting was the “logical result of extremists like this dictating our country’s gun laws.”

“If you haven’t been the victim of gun violence, God bless you. But unfortunately it’s coming — in your state, your community, your school,” she said.

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence said, “These terrible tragedies are happening with increasing regularity, and it is clear that there is no place in this country where Americans are safe from gun violence.”

The Allen Mall shooting is the 199th mass shooting in the United States this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

It comes just a week after a gunman in Cleveland, Texas, killed five people after being asked by a neighbor to stop shooting while they were trying to sleep. The shooter, who was on the run, was arrested after a days-long manhunt.

On Monday, a man who was a registered sex offender shot dead six people, including his wife and three children, near Tulsa, Oklahoma.

A gunman killed eight people and injured seven others in a mass shooting at an outlet mall in Texas, authorities say.

The shooter, whose name has not yet been released, was also shot by police after the shocking incident took place at the Allen Premium Outlets in Allen, Texas on Saturday afternoon.

Seven people died at the scene and two others were pronounced dead on arrival at hospital, Allen Fire Department chief Jonathan Boyd told reporters Saturday night.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz offered his condolences and praised law enforcement for gunning down the “monster” shooter.

“Heidi and I are praying for the families of the victims of the horrific shopping center shooting in Allen, Texas. We also pray for the broader Collin County community who are shocked by this tragedy,” he said.

“My team is in contact with local officials and I have offered any support needed to administer justice and help those in need. Thank you to the incredible law enforcement agencies who put a stop to the monster that committed this evil act.”

In a news conference, Allen Police Chief Brian Harvey, an officer who was at the Allen mall when an unrelated call was made, said he heard and responded to the shooting.

He said he found the shooter and shot him down

“He heard gunshots, located the gunfire, located the shooter, neutralized the shooter,” Chief Harvey said.

He said the shooter acted alone.

“We believe at this point the shooter acted alone. We ask for the help of the population. If you’re a witness and have video, call 1-800-FBI. This is an ongoing, active investigation.”

Several shoppers who came to the Allen Premium Outlets mall in Allen, Texas on Saturday said they ducked for cover when they heard loud popping noises.

Fontayne Payton, 35, was at H&M when he heard gunfire through the headphones he was wearing.

“It was so loud it sounded like it was right outside,” Mr Payton said.

People at the store dispersed before staff ushered the group into the changing rooms and then into a locked back room, he said. When they were given the green light to go, Payton saw that the store had broken windows and a trail of blood on the door. Discarded sandals and bloody clothes lay nearby.

Outside, Mr. Payton saw bodies. “I pray it wasn’t kids, but it looked like kids,” he said. The bodies were covered in white towels and slumped over bags on the floor, he said. “It broke me going out to see that,” he said.

Farther away he saw the body of a heavyset man dressed all in black. He assumed it was the gunman, Mr Payton said, because unlike the other bodies he had not been covered up.

Tarakram Nunna, 25, and Ramakrishna Mullapudi, 26, said they saw three people lying motionless on the ground, including one who appeared to be a police officer and another who appeared to be a security guard at a mall.

Another shopper, Sharkie Mouli, 24, said he was hiding at a Banana Republic store during the shooting. As he was leaving, he saw an apparently unconscious police officer lying next to another unconscious person in front of the outlet store.

“I saw his gun lying right next to him and a guy passing out right next to him,” Mr Mouli said.