Under the gun! - USA records one mass shooting per week

ALLEN, Texas (AP):

Mass killings have happened with staggering frequency in the United States this year, with an average of about one per week, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.

The latest incident took place on Saturday in the Dallas area after a gunman reportedly stepped out of a sedan and opened fire in the direction of a mall, killing eight people and wounding seven. The shooter was killed by a police officer who happened to be nearby, the authorities said.

Barely a week before, five people were fatally shot in Cleveland, Texas, after a neighbour asked a man to stop firing his weapon while a baby slept, the authorities said.

The police did not immediately provide details about the victims at Allen Premium Outlets, a sprawling outdoor shopping centre, but witnesses reported seeing children among them. Some said they also saw what appeared to be a police officer and a mall security guard unconscious on the ground.

A 16-year-old pretzel stand employee, Maxwell Gum, described a virtual stampede of shoppers. He and others sheltered in a storage room.

"We started running. Kids were getting trampled," Gum said. "My co-worker picked up a four-year-old girl and gave her to her parents."

Dashcam video circulating online showed the gunman getting out of a car and shooting at people on the sidewalk. More than three dozen shots could be heard as the vehicle that was recording the video drove off.

Allen Fire Chief Jonathan Boyd said seven people, including the shooter, died at the scene. Nine victims were taken to hospitals. Two of them died.

Three of the wounded were in critical condition on Saturday evening, and four were stable, Boyd said.

An Allen Police Department officer was in the area on an unrelated call when he heard shots at 3:36 p.m., the department wrote on Facebook.

"The officer engaged the suspect and neutralised the threat. He then called for emergency personnel," the post said.