Local officials said the “Good Samaritan” — a man who legally carried a firearm — stopped the gunman almost immediately after the suspect opened fire Sunday in the food court of the Greenwood Park Mall in Greenwood, Indiana, outside Indianapolis. In addition to the gunman, who had a rifle and several magazines of ammunition, three people were killed and two others were injured. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register “We know that someone we call a ‘Good Samaritan’ was able to shoot the shooter and stop further bloodshed. That person saved lives tonight,” Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers said in a statement. “I am grateful for his quick action and heroism.” A motive behind the shooting is not yet known, Greenwood Police Chief Jim Ison said 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 my thoughts are with all the victims of this horrific incident, now and in the coming days and weeks,” Holcomb wrote on Twitter. Federal and local authorities searched the suspected gunman’s apartment early Monday, the Fox News affiliate in Indianapolis reported. A spate of gun violence in public places since May, including mass shootings at a New York grocery store, a Texas elementary school and an Illinois Independence Day parade, has renewed the fierce debate in the US over gun regulations. Gun rights advocates will likely seize on the killing of the suspect in Indiana as an example of why it is important to allow Americans to carry firearms. “We’ll say it again: The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” the National Rifle Association tweeted Monday morning. It’s rare for a bystander to stop a mass shooting in the United States, according to a New York Times analysis. The paper showed that only 22 gunmen in the 433 shooting attacks since 2000 were shot by a bystander. The incident also raises questions about the interplay between state law and the rights of corporations and businesses to ban guns on their property. The shooting comes just weeks after Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb signed a bill repealing the state’s gun permit requirement. Now, anyone age 18 or older who is not legally prohibited from owning a firearm can generally carry a concealed weapon in public. The law conflicts with the policy of Simon Property Group, the owner of the Greenwood Park shopping center, which prohibits guns on its properties, according to its website. The Indianapolis-based company was unavailable for comment Monday. According to Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, private businesses and property owners may restrict gun owners from carrying a gun on their property. Even so, it’s not generally against the law to ignore a “no firearms” sign at a private business, he wrote in the state’s Gun Owners’ Bill of Rights before the weekend shooting. Rokita said the only consequence for ignoring a company’s ban can only come after an immediate warning to someone carrying a gun on the property: “You can commit a criminal offense for entering a business after being denied entry or ask you to leave.” he writes the bill of rights. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Reporting by Cheney Orr in Greenwood, Indiana and Brendan O’Brien in Chicago. Edited by Alistair Bell Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
