(Reuters) – Authorities in Indiana on Monday hailed a 22-year-old passer by for fatally shooting a gunman who killed three people and wounded two at an Indianapolis-area mall.
Local officials said the unidentified man, lawfully carrying a firearm, stopped the shooter, who had a rifle and several magazines of ammunition, almost as soon he opened fire in the food court of the Greenwood Park Mall on Sunday night.
“We do know that someone we are calling a ‘Good Samaritan’ was able to shoot the assailant and stop further bloodshed. This person saved lives tonight,” Greenwood, Indiana Mayor Mark Myers said in a statement. “I am grateful for his quick action and heroism.”
The motive behind the shooting is not known yet, Greenwood Police Department Chief Jim Ison said on Sunday, without releasing the names of the victims, gunman or bystander. There were four female victims and one male victim. One of the victims was a 12-year-old girl.
“Lives were lost today, and I’m thinking about all the victims of this horrible incident, now and in the days and weeks to come,” Holcomb tweeted.
The incident raises questions regarding the interaction between state law and the rights of companies and businesses to ban weapons on their properties, especially after a spate of gun massacres since May have renewed fierce U.S. debate over gun regulations.
The shooting comes just weeks after the Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb signed a bill into law repealed the state’s handgun permit requirement. Now, anyone 18 years-of-age or older who is not legally prohibited from firearm possession may generally carry a concealed handgun in public.
That law, however, conflicts with the policy of Simon Property Group, the owner of the Greenwood Park Mall, which prohibits guns on its properties. The Indianapolis-based company was unavailable for comment on Monday.
According to Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, private businesses and property owners may restrict gun owners from carrying a weapon on their property.
“While it is generally not against the law to ignore a ‘no firearms’ sign at a private business, you may commit criminal trespass for entering a business after you have been denied entry or have been asked to leave,” he wrote in the state’s Gun Owners’ Bill of Rights.
(Reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Chicago; Editing by Alistair Bell)
