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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.
On Monday morning, the Johnson County Coroner’s Office said two men were pronounced dead at the scene, and a woman and a man were pronounced dead at local hospitals.
Ison said Sunday night that a 12-year-old girl was one of the two people who were injured. Both of the injured victims were in stable condition, he said.
The City of Greenwood said a 2 p.m. press conference was scheduled for Monday at which officials would have further details about the incident, including identities of the victims.
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.
WXIN-TV Channel 59 reported Monday that the suspect’s apartment was raided overnight. Citing neighbors, the report said the raid included SWAT teams, the FBI and a bomb disposal unit.
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.
A statement on the mall’s website said the the shopping center was closed on Monday and would reopen Tuesday at 11 a.m.
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.
Simon Property Group has a blanket “Code of Conduct” policy that says no weapons are allowed at its properties. Nevertheless, a statement issued Monday morning by Greenwood Park Mall praised the man who stopped the shooter.
“We grieve for the victims of yesterday’s horrific tragedy in Greenwood,” the statement said. “Violence has no place in this or any other community. We are grateful for the strong response of the first responders, including the heroic actions of the good Samaritan who stopped the suspect.”
In the statement, the mall said it “has a strong relationship with the Greenwood Police Department and maintains an active and robust security program at the property.”
Those measures, it said, include:
- actively partnering with the FBI, PD and others to conduct training and education on incident response, including drills, tenant education and awareness. The most recent drill was June 2022.
- maintaining an active police and security presence on property at all times.
- utilizing closed-circuit TV cameras connected to the Simon Operational Intelligence Center.
- recently installing four license plate readers.
Automated license plate readers are an increasingly more common security device used by police departments and private property owners. The devices automatically send alerts to police when they identify license plates on vehicles that have been stolen or are owned by criminal suspects.
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Simon Property Group said it “planned to make security upgrades at the mall in February”. Is this referring to last February 2022 or this coming February 2023? If 2022, those upgrades have not worked; if 2023, that’s a little late now since three people are dead. People have gone absolutely mad.
They may already be in place? Just glad the Samaritan was there!
The promise was made in Feb 22, in response to an incident at that time. Specifics of what and of what timing were not disclosed.
There are no security upgrades that are going to prevent someone from shooting up a public place, just like there are no laws or mental health treatments to identify an 18 year old who decides to shoot his grandmother in the face and head to the local school, or a loser, I mean “aspiring rapper” who heads to the local parade.
We have a culture problem. I don’t have the answers, but maybe start with making the consequences so sever a potential shooter thinks twice? Also stop glorifying gangbanging as cool and maybe cancel a culture where getting “disrespected” is an acceptable reason to pull a gun
Luckily a civilian was armed and was able to shoot and kill the gunmen. That civilian saved a-lot of people lives.
Agreed.
Also thankful the citizen wasn’t then gunned down by the police or other armed citizens as happens often
Yep.
https://www.cpr.org/2022/06/22/olde-town-arvada-shooting-johnny-hurley/
More good people being armed has to be part of the solution, especially in schools and other places that maniacs think are gun free zones.
You are right James as it could have been much worse if there was not an armed citizen present. The mainstream media does not like folks to think for and protect themselves.
Yes , and yet we have had 2 other shootings in Indy since this one happened?
Seems good guy with a gun still only happens 0.1% of the time. And they better be white or they’ll also possibly be shot
If we didn’t have armed citizens able to obtain rifles like they were candy, maybe we could have avoided the need for anybody to be shot, either by somebody with a rifle, or a “good samaritan”.
We are going to get to the point where nobody will be safe to go anywhere where this is more than a 100 people. Are we making American Great yet?
Dan, if you’re thinking about confiscating half a billion firearms and expect to get every single one to save one person’s life, you have unreasonable expectations.
People who can prove competent with firearms and how to use them should be able to carry them. But best I can tell, it’s harder for a member of the military to be certified to carry a weapon in the field of battle than it is for a civilian to obtain a weapon. That just … strikes me as backward.
Agree with Dan. The good guy carry’s a gun to protect us from the bad guy with a gun, yet if neither had a gun, no one would have been shot. It’s ridiculous.
99% of the time, there is no Good Samaritan. Where was the Good Samaritan at Uvalde…they were in the hallway with a hundred guns, but too scared to save the babies.
Why is there never a conversation or investigation into the shooter’s medical history?
Why does our country produce so many killers?
Is it because we’re the most heavily medicated population, especially children?
Are the side effects of these meds causing this?
Big Pharma is silent.
Antidepressant medications most likely culprit.
Hello Bernard
Probably because of the cost to begin a just initiative would take several generations to impact. Its a shame to say this but it is not politically coorect. However i believe that initiative would impact a lot more symptoms than shootings.
Don’t forget we also decided to close mental hospitals and just let people roam the streets instead.
“We” = Reagan
Quote: “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.
Bingo. That says it all. Congratulations to that citizen.
This is good news. Thank goodness the shooter was taken out and we society doesn’t have to feed, clothe, house, and provide medical attention to him for the rest of his life because weak-kneed, bleeding-heart liberals oppose the death penalty when it is so obviously warranted.
4 dead 2 wounded is good news? This is the “good guy with a gun” system working as intended??? Lmao
Disgusting. You glorify death and murder. Zero compassion, zero attempt to learn or understand or prevent tragedy. Zero Justice. Just kill’em all, right?
You’re not the good guy
If it’s only money you are worried about, it’s much cheaper to feed, clothe, house etc. than go through all the numerous litigations, hearings etc associated with the death penalty.
Jolf R., it needn’t be that way as to the cost of all the appeals and such. Had the shooter lived, he would have been entitled to a fair trial and, assuming he was found guilty due to the overwhelming evidence and numerous witnesses, sentenced to die by whatever means the state provides. Then, and only then, should he be executed.
Enough with the costs of appeals and such, which are inevitably put forth by those opposed to the death penalty. They should have to pay for them, not taxpayers, which have already paid for the trial prescribed by law….and the victim’s families, who deserve justice. Thankfully, it was administered promptly in this case, saving a whole lot of hand-wringing.
For those who think guns are the problem, I submit this sobering writing:
https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fthefederalist.com%2F2022%2F05%2F27%2Fschool-shootings-arent-caused-by-faulty-gun-laws-but-by-the-collapse-of-the-family%2F&data=05%7C01%7C%7C149e374ae196493b1a6608da440738c7%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637897095066227422%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=ffmGbLMJfXZvOAhLudy1yOszid1YP8Cs%2FEZv9AlICX8%3D&reserved=0
(Famous author Ayn Rand once said, “We can ignore reality, but we can’t ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.” So true, so true…)
Author Ayn Rand once said, “We can ignore reality, but we can’t ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.” So true, so true… THANKS BOB for calling out the irony and this reality in the link you posted.
Amazing that no one here has said how bad they feel for the victims and their families… only discourse about a topic that has plenty of data and information. The “Good guy with a gun” policy works less than 5% of the time. Sadly it’s is based on fiction, romanticizing guns & violence (and prob John Wayne movies), not facts/data
If the people posting here & police are so quick to call out “Good Samaritan” they should know that he showed love & compassion – and actually cared for his fellow humans. He wasn’t packing a sword waiting around for a bad guy to start slaughtering people. He was ACTIVELY helping those in need.
The right-wing protection of assault rifles (and please don’t tell me AR doesn’t stand for that) over life and freedom for anyone not carrying a gun is based in a memory of America that is gone now! Maybe because of medicated kids – maybe due to the spread of misinformation and downright hate for “others”. I hope we can go the other way toward more acceptance, understanding, helping others and fighting against violence that way instead of a shoot-out.
Hey Richard, AR stands for ArmaLite Rifle. It says so right on the side of mine!
It may be time to retire in another country. I am sure the rest of the world is laughing at us. It’s like living in a third world country. Unfortunately it will never change.
Better not move to Canada, Robert. In proportion to their population, they have significantly higher-than-average rates of mass shootings there. Did you hear about the recent one in Nova Scotia? Yet again, a high risk person given the complete go-ahead and actually pretended to be a member of the RCMP to win trust of his eventual victims.
And of course there’s last month’s shooting of a gay nightclub in Oslo, where the perpetrator obviously was a blonde and blue-eyed Nordic…because that’s who shoots up gay nightclubs.
In these tough times, what’s a slobbering partisan to do?
Robert, I thought you moved to Canada in 2016? There will be a lot of inane opinions about this, but comparing Greenwood Indiana to a 3rd world country is an early candidate for Top Ten
@ Lauren that’s not exactly true..
.https://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/Canada/United-States/Crime/Violent-crime
Jolf, note that I said “higher than average”. I did not say “higher than US”. The US is higher on a per capita rate, when the two countries are taken side-by-side.
However, Canada as a whole does indeed have higher than average rates of gun crime than some US states. And most of those US states with low per capita gun crime still have some of the most relaxed gun laws in the entire developed world.
There just isn’t a strong correlation at all.
Lauren, that’s not even *close* to being true. In fact, what you just said is completely fabricated. As of 2018, the USA had 79% of homicides committed with firearms. Canada? 37%. Total gun-related crimes in the USA are three times higher than in Canada. The rate of firearm homicides per capita (as you stated) in Canada is 0.5 per 100,000 people; in the United States, it’s 4.12 per 100,000.
“But then they’ll just find another way to kill you.” No, because Canada has far less violent crime overall than the United States because they have a governance structure that is designed to help people and provide social safety nets. The USA’s homicide rate is *twenty-three times higher* than Canada.
My club has discussed being a “gun free zone”, I would likely leave if it did. I want my fellow members to feel free to carry. Shooters will always go to the easy target.
My guess is that the good guy that used his gun was in violation of a Simon Properties rule about firearms. If so, they should immediately reverse that policy and allow guns on the premises.
The “No Gun” signs are not legally enforceable in Indiana & are worthless. There are only a few places you can’t legally carry in Indiana. Good thing our Good Guy knew that and carried in the mall yesterday & use it to protect himself and others.
As a practical matter, a change in the (confirmed) policy is not likely. Mgmt want the ability to eject people if needed, and current policy gives some flexibility. “Don’t ask, don’t tell” seems to be the best pragmatic, if not ideal, answer.
It was confirmed Simon malls policy is a gun free zone, yet Simon’s statement praised the Good Samaritan. That seems to speak volumes.
RE: No, they’re completely enforceable because it’s private property. The government cannot force a private property owner to allow firearms on their premises or in their homes. Sorry.
Legally carrying? Then was the murderer legally carrying too – or is it only legal to carry a gun in a “No Weapons” posted area when you’re this one dude?
Two people were accidentally shot AT THIS MALL THIS YEAR.
It’s the guns.
No, the murderer was illegally carrying, since it’s, you know, illegal to murder…
@ R.E. – sorry you missed my point. For some reason when we try to have a discussion on controlling assault rifles, someone skips all the other aspects and corrects someone who used the term erroneously… and then they drop the mic and walk away like they won or something like that. Kinda like what you did….
Any other reactions to my comments?
(and please don’t come with a link and fine print like Lauren B. 🙁
Countries with the Highest Rates of Violent Gun Death (Homicides) per 100k residents in 2019
El Salvador — 36.78
Venezuela — 33.27
Guatemala — 29.06
Colombia — 26.36
Brazil — 21.93
Bahamas — 21.52
Honduras — 20.15
U.S. Virgin Islands — 19.40
Puerto Rico — 18.14
Mexico — 16.41
USA not in the top 10.
Why are you including the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico in this list? They aren’t separate nations.
Here’s the actual statistic of Firearms Related Deaths per 100k per Year:
1. Honduras – 60
2. Venezuela – 59.22
3. El Salvador – 45.6
4. Eswatini – 37.16
5. Guatemala – 34.1
6. Jamaica – 30.72
7. Brazil – 21.9
8. Columbia – 18.65
9. Panama – 15.11
10. United States – 12.21
Countries with per capita rates of firearms deaths than the United States include Australia, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Paraguay, Montenegro, Peru, Serbia, Nicaragua, Chile, Israel, and all of the European Union.
Not Greenwood, Indiana to a third world country just US. With the gun violence deaths above I would think the US would rank in the top 10 for school shootings. Those above are homicides not mass shootings. There is a big difference. These mass, mainly school shootings are an embarrassment to the US.