Indiana shooting: Death toll rises to four after mall shooting

• Authorities confirmed that four people were killed in a mass shooting in Indiana.
• A gunman began shooting inside a mall on Sunday afternoon.
• An armed civilian then shot and killed the shooter.

The US wakes up to another tragedy linked to guns. In an updated report, police said at least three civilians and the suspected gunman were killed in the shooting at Indiana’s Greenwood Park mall on Sunday evening.

The police explained that they received a call alerting them to shots fired inside the food court of ​​the shopping center around 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 17. By nightfall, there was already a strong presence of officers from the Greenwood Police Department and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, according to KTLA.

Death toll rises in Indiana shooting

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Deputy Chief Chris Bailey initially said two people had died and «many other people» were being treated at local hospitals. Greenwood police later reported that the death toll had risen to include three people, in addition to the as-yet-unidentified shooter, putting the total killed at four.

An armed «good Samaritan» killed the suspect at the mall, Greenwood Police Chief Jim Ison said. The man who shot the suspect, identified as a 22-year-old from Bartholomew County, had a legal gun permit and is cooperating with the police investigation, according to KTLA.

The shooter had a rifle and several magazines.

The shooter was an adult male with a rifle and several magazines of ammunition, Jim Ison said. What sparked the shooting at that Indiana mall was still unclear at the time, he added. Two people were still being treated at a local hospital for injuries sustained during the event.

During a news conference broadcast on Sunday night, police confirmed that the victims of the shooting included one man and four women. All of them were adults, in addition to a young girl who was slightly injured, left the mall and was later taken to a hospital after talking to her parents, KTLA reported.

“We are disgusted” by another shooting in the US

The two injured victims are in the hospital in stable condition, police said. Following the shooting, multiple agencies and a SWAT team helped clear the mall. Agents were scouring the area to make sure there was no one left inside who still needed help.

«We are sickened by another type of incident like this in our country, in our city and in the next few days, the next few hours, we hope to have more information to share with you,» Chris Bailey told reporters at the scene. “As you can imagine, this kind of situation is horrible. It has shaken us to the core,” Jim Ison said.

“The real hero” is the young man who killed the shooter in Indiana

The AP said police also seized a suspicious backpack found in a bathroom near the area. «The real hero of the day is the citizen who legally carried a firearm in that food court and was able to stop the assailant almost as soon as he started,» said local police chief Jim Ison.

This is the latest shooting to rock the United States so far this year. Schools, churches, grocery stores and a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois, have become the scene of such incidents in recent months. However, the reality of the impressive rate of homicides in the country can be seen most clearly in the individual murders that rarely make the news, reported AP.