4 dead, 2 wounded in shooting at Greenwood Park Mall Transcript

Speaker 1: (00:05)
This isn’t something that we have seen here in Greenwood before. It is absolutely horrendous. Our thoughts and prayers are with those loved ones hurting.

Speaker 2: (00:20)
Breaking news this morning, terrifying moments inside Greenwood Park Mall as a Gunman opened fire in the food court just moments before the mall was set to close last night.

Julia: (00:30)
Happening today, police will have another update on their investigation we’re told around two o’clock this afternoon, but what we know right now, four people are dead, including the suspected gunman. Police tell us the shooter was actually taken down by an armed bystander in the mall. Sam, just about 30 minutes ago, you showed us new video actually from inside the mall, really a different perspective from all of us who weren’t there.

Sam: (01:00)
Yeah. Julia, I can also tell you, so far this morning, we have put out quite a few phone calls. We called Greenwood Park Mall. We also called Simon Property Group, which owns the mall, trying to figure out if the property is even going to open again today. Earlier this morning, at four o’clock, we told you we spoke to a security guard here on site. Even he wasn’t sure if they were going to open. So, there’s still a lot of uncertainty that we are working through this morning, but as a reminder, we want to tell you what we do know so far this morning. We know that six people were shot, four people are dead after that shooting inside the food court area inside the mall. It all happened just 12 hours ago. We know the shooter is also dead, taken down by a 22-year-old armed citizen, according to police. Right now, we are working to learn the identity of that person, but this morning, we do know they are from Bartholomew County.

Speaker 1: (01:54)
The real hero of the day is the citizen that was lawfully carrying a firearm in that food court and was able to stop this shooter almost as soon as he began.

Sam: (02:05)
Guys, we will continue to be here throughout the morning, keeping an eye on the scene here behind us. It is still fairly quiet just as the sun is starting to now come up. Looking ahead to what comes next, though, we know the Johnson County coroner told us we could know the identities of the people who died by about 10 o’clock this morning. Then, also, this afternoon at two o’clock, police are holding a press conference to give us the latest information there. We will be there, and we’ll keep you updated both on air and online. Guys?

Speaker 5: (02:37)
I seen somebody laying on the ground, and I just grabbed my kids, and we ran.

Julia: (02:42)
Just can’t even imagine the horror. The shooting happened, as we’ve told you, in the food court full of people just before that mall was set to close.

Speaker 2: (02:51)
We spoke to shoppers who say they saw the gunman. Heather Arthur, one of those shoppers, says she and her kids were actually at the food court and ran to a nearby store to take cover.

Speaker 5: (03:02)
It was a bald, white, older male. We were locked in a closet, and we barricaded it with tables and waited for the police to come and announced their self to let us out.

Speaker 2: (03:13)
You can see, right there, she said, “It’s a bald, white, older male,” that she saw. This morning, there are lots of questions, though, that police continue to investigate. Greenland Police will hold a news conference at 2:00 this afternoon. That’s when we’re hoping to learn the identities of each of the victims, the shooter, and the armed assailant. We’ve also reached out to the Greenwood Park Mall to find out if they will reopen today. We have not heard back from them at this time

Julia: (03:38)
All of this, once again, renewing the debate about gun control, but despite Indiana’s open carry law that went into effect in July, you cannot carry a gun into Greenwood Park Mall according to the mall. We checked. The mall’s rules clearly state that they have a code of conduct, which is posted at each entrance to the mall. It clearly says no firearms or illegal weapons are allowed inside the mall. Greenwood Park Mall is owned by Simon Property Group, which of course is based here in Indianapolis. We have reached out to police on whether they would arrest someone who violates mall policy, and we are waiting to hear back.

Speaker 2: (04:19)
Indiana’s two senators went to Twitter to offer their condolences for the shooting victims. Senator Todd Young tweeted, “Terrible news tonight in my home county. Praying for the victims of a shooting at the Greenwood Park Mall. Thank you to our law enforcement officers who responded.” Senator Mike Braun tweeted, “Praying for families of those killed in a senseless act of violence in Greenwood tonight and grateful for the brave armed citizen who took action to stop the perpetrator and prevent further tragic loss of life.” We’ll have more on this breaking story all morning long, right here on 13 Sunrise and on our website at WTHR.com. We have crews at Greenwood Park Mall, and we’ll have updates as they become available.