Gunman Kills Nine in Texas Shopping Mall Shooting
On May 7, 2023, a gunman opened fire at a shopping mall in Allen, Texas, killing nine people and injuring at least seven others, including children. Eyewitnesses reported that the man fired indiscriminately at passers-by, leading to the evacuation of hundreds of people from the mall as police responded to the shooting. According to the BBC, police arrived at the scene and shot the gunman dead, and they believe that he acted alone. The motive for the attack is not yet known, and the authorities have not released any details about the gunman's identity. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has called the shooting an "unspeakable tragedy" and offered any assistance the state could provide to local authorities.
Eyewitnesses described the chaos and horror they experienced during the shooting. Fontayne Payton, who was shopping at H&M when the shooting began, said that he heard gunshots through his headphones. When he was allowed to leave the mall, he saw bodies outside, some of which he believed to be children. Payton said that it "broke him" to see the aftermath of the shooting.
The shooting in Allen is just one of at least 198 mass shootings that have occurred in the US so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive's definition of a mass shooting as an incident in which four or more people are killed or wounded. Earlier this week, a man in Texas was arrested for shooting and killing five of his neighbors, including a nine-year-old boy. In another incident, one person was killed and at least six others were injured during a Cinco de Mayo party at The Scratch Kitchen in Ocean Springs, Mississippi.
