11:30 a.m. update
By The Franklin Daily Journal
A Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) spokesperson said Monday morning that the agency assisted the Greenwood Police in executing a search warrant at Polo Run Apartments, 800 Kings Mill Road, Greenwood. The FBI is also assisting with the shooting investigation at the mall.
The FBI spokesperson did not say if the warrant was connected to the shooting. The Daily Journal reached out to Greenwood police on more information on the warrant, along with whether or not it’s connected to the shooting, and has not yet heard back from officials.
The FBI is continuing to offer assistance and resources as needed to Greenwood Police, an FBI spokesperson said.
The names of the deceased individuals will be released at a 2 p.m. at a press conference to be held at Greenwood City Center.
Simon Property Group has closed the mall today. The Daily Journal reached out to Simon officials for an additional comment, but has not heard back.
8:30 A.M. UPDATE
By The Associated Press
A gunman opened fire at Greenwood Park Mall on Sunday, killing three people and injuring two others before he was shot to death by a man police are calling a “good Samaritan,” Greenwood Police Chief James Ison said Sunday evening.
Officers from the Greenwood Police Department, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, the Indiana State Police and other agencies rushed to the scene after shots were reported fired around 6 p.m.
“It’s horrible,” Ison said at press briefing near the mall after the shooting. “It’s rocked us to our core.”
Ison said an adult male walked into the food court carrying a rifle and several magazines of ammo and began shooting people before he was shot by a man identified as a 22-year-old from Bartholomew County, south of Greenwood.
“The real hero of the day is the citizen that was lawfully carrying a firearm in that food court and was able to stop the shooter almost as soon as he began,” Ison said.
Before being killed, the shooter either killed or injured four females and one male, Ison said, while declining to provide a breakdown.
He said a 12-year-old girl was among the two injured. Both of the injured victims are in stable condition, he said.
Police confiscated a suspicious backpack that was in a bathroom near the food court and determined it contained no explosives. Ison declined to reveal the contents.
Greenwood Park Mall, 1251 U.S. 31 N., is the second-largest indoor shopping center in Indiana with 1,288,000 square feet of retail space. Built in 1965, the mall has about 150 tenants.
The mall has been the site of several gun-related incidents over the past several months.
Mall owner and landlord Simon Property Group said it planned to make security upgrades at the mall in February after two separate robberies in the parking lot in which the victims reported being held up at gunpoint.
In Late October, a man injured himself in an accidental shooting inside the mall.
In early November, Greenwood Police reported an accidental gun discharge involving a teen without a gun permit in the Macy’s parking lot. The teen was injured in the incident.
ORIGINAL STORY
Four people are dead and multiple people were hospitalized following a mass shooting at the Greenwood Park Mall Sunday evening.
The shooter, who was killed during the incident, entered the Greenwood Park Mall with a rifle and several magazines of ammunition and began firing in the food court, Greenwood Police Department Chief Jim Ison said.
First responders from numerous Johnson and Marion county agencies responded to a report of a shooting at Greenwood Park Mall shortly around 6 p.m. Sunday.
Five people inside the mall were shot during the shooting, three who are deceased, believed to be two men and one woman. The two remaining people were taken to Eskenazi Hospital in Indianapolis in unknown condition, Ison said.
The shooter was shot and killed by a good Samaritan who had witnessed the shooting. The good Samaritan is cooperating with police, Ison said and was identified as a 22-year-old Bartholomew County resident.
Police found a long rifle with several ammo magazines with the shooter, he said. It is believed the shooter entered the food court. The incident was contained to that location, officials said.
“This type of situation is horrible it has rocked us to our core,” Ison said Sunday.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department assisted Greenwood police at the scene clearing the building. Officers from the IMPD SWAT team, along with other area tactical teams went methodically through the mall to clear the building, both Ison and IMPD assistant chief Christopher Bailey said Sunday.
“We are sickened by yet another type of incident like this in our country, in our city,” Bailey said.
Police did not say how many guns were at the scene or how many shots were fired. A backpack was left behind and it’s not clear if it belonged to the shooter.
Those who may have witnessed the shooting are being encouraged to go to the GPD Training Facility, 736 Loews Boulevard, to speak with officers. They can also call the Johnson County Dispatch Center at 317-346-6336, officials said.
Family reunification took place at the training facility, officials said.
Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers said in a statement issued Sunday evening that the shooting was a tragedy that hit at “the core of our community.”
“Please offer your prayers to the victims and our first responders,” Myers said.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, hundreds of witnesses, law enforcement and EMS are gathered outside of the mall on U.S. 31 in Greenwood following the reports of an active shooter in the building.
Witnesses standing outside the mall told the Daily Journal they heard several gunshots inside and ran out. One witness said they were ushered to the back of a store to wait.
“I heard at least five shots from where I was … I was around the corner from where they started shooting,” Mark Tillbrey, a 16-year-old witness at the mall, said. “Everyone started running, and I started helping kids out.”
Police said one of the wounded individuals was a 12-year-old girl who suffered a minor injury. The other victims were in their 20s or 30s, police said.
Additional infomation is expected to be released at a 2 p.m. press conference on Monday.
