ALLEN, Texas -- A gunman killed eight people and wounded seven others -- three critically -- in a shooting at a Dallas-area mall before being fatally shot by a police officer who happened to be nearby, authorities said Saturday.
Authorities did not immediately provide details about the victims, but witnesses reported seeing children among them. Some witnesses at the Allen Premium Outlets said they also saw what appeared to be a police officer and a mall security guard unconscious on the ground.
Dashboard camera video that circulated online showed a gunman step out of a vehicle outside the mall and immediately start shooting at people on the sidewalk. More than three dozen shots could be heard as the vehicle recording the video drove off.
Nine victims had been taken to hospitals, the Allen Police Department said on Facebook.
Medical City Healthcare, a Dallas-area hospital system, said in a written statement it was treating eight people between the ages of 5 and 61.
An Allen police officer was in the area on an unrelated call when he heard gunshots at 3:36 p.m., the department wrote on Facebook.
"The officer engaged the suspect and neutralized the threat. He then called for emergency personnel. Nine victims were transported to local hospitals by Allen Fire Department," the agency wrote in the Facebook post. "There is no longer an active threat."
The White House said President Joe Biden had been briefed on the shooting and that the administration had offered support to local officials. Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has signed laws easing firearms restrictions after past mass shootings, called it an "unspeakable tragedy."
Hundreds of people who had been shopping Saturday evening stood across the street from the mall. Officers circulated among them asking if anyone had seen what happened.
Fontayne Payton, 35, was at an H&M store when he heard the sound of gunshots through his headphones.
People in the store scattered before employees ushered the group into the fitting rooms and then a lockable back room, he said. When they were given the all-clear to leave, Payton saw that the store had broken windows and a trail of blood to the door.
Once outside, Payton saw bodies covered in white towels, slumped over bags on the ground, he said.
"I pray it wasn't kids, but it looked like kids," he said.
Farther away, he saw the body of a heavyset man wearing all black. He assumed it was the shooter, Payton said, because the body wasn't covered up.
Tarakram Nunna, 25, and Ramakrishna Mullapudi, 26, said they saw what appeared to be three people lying motionless on the ground, including one who appeared to be a police officer and another who appeared to be a mall security guard.
Another shopper, Sharkie Mouli, 24, said he hid in a Banana Republic store during the shooting. As he left, he saw what appeared to be an unconscious police officer lying next to another unconscious person outside the store.
Social media videos showed people running through a parking lot while gunfire could be heard.
More than 30 police cruisers with lights flashing were blocking an entrance to the mall, with multiple ambulances on the scene.
A live aerial broadcast from a news station showed armored trucks and other law enforcement vehicles stationed outside the sprawling outdoor mall.
Ambulances from several neighboring cities responded to the scene. The Dallas office of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also responded.
Allen, a suburb about 25 miles north of downtown Dallas, has roughly 105,000 residents.
Information for this article was contributed by Adam Kealoha Causey and Rebecca Boone of The Associated Press.
People gather across the street from a shopping center after a shooting Saturday, May 6, 2023, in Allen, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
A law enforcement officer runs as people are evacuated from a shopping center where a shooting occurred Saturday, May 6, 2023, in Allen, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
A law enforcement officer walks as people are evacuated from a shopping center where a shooting occurred Saturday, May 6, 2023, in Allen, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
CORRECTS DATELINE TO ALLEN, TEXAS, INSTEAD OF FRISCO, TEXAS - People raise their hands as they leave a shopping center following reports of a shooting, Saturday, May 6, 2023, in Allen, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
People raise their hands as they leave a shopping center after a shooting, Saturday, May 6, 2023, in Allen, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
People raise their hands as they leave a shopping center following reports of a shooting, Saturday, May 6, 2023, in Allen, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)