GREENWOOD, Ind., July 18 (Reuters) – A 22-year-old Australian bystander who witnessed a deadly weekend shooting at a shopping center near Indianapolis was hailed as a hero on Monday for killing the gunman and limiting the death toll in the massacre.
Local authorities said a “good Samaritan” — who was legally carrying a firearm — stopped the shooter almost as soon as the suspect opened fire Sunday night at the Greenwood Park Mall food court 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 wounded.
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“We know that someone we call the ‘Good Samaritan’ was able to shoot the attacker dead and stop further bloodshed.” This man saved lives tonight,” Greenwood, Indiana Mayor Mark Myers said in a statement. “I am grateful for his quick actions 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, the shooter or the bystander. The victims are four women and one man. One of the victims is a 12-year-old girl.
“Lives were lost today and my thoughts are with all the victims of this terrible accident, now and in the days and weeks ahead,” Holcomb tweeted.
A wave 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 a heated debate in the US over gun regulations.
Gun rights advocates will likely use 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 said in a tweet Monday morning.
It’s rare for a bystander to stop a mass shooting in the US, according to a New York Times analysis. The paper showed that only 22 gunmen in the 433 shootings since 2000 had been shot by a bystander.
The incident also raises questions about the interplay between state law and the rights of companies and businesses to ban guns on their properties.
The shooting comes just weeks after Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb signed a bill that repealed the state’s gun permit requirement. Now, anyone 18 or older who is not legally prohibited from possessing a firearm can generally carry a concealed handgun in public.
The law contradicts the policy of Simon Property Group, owner of Greenwood Park Mall, which prohibits guns on its properties, according to its website. The Indianapolis-based company could not be reached for comment Monday.
According to Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, private businesses and property owners can restrict gun owners from carrying guns on their property.
However, it is generally not illegal 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 the company’s ban could only come after a direct warning to someone carrying a firearm on the property: “You could be committing criminal trespass for entering a business after being refused entry or being asked to leave,” the bill of rights states.
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Reporting by Cheney Orr in Greenwood, Ind., and Brendan O’Brien in Chicago; Editing by Alistair Bell
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