CNN, KTVT
By Claire Colbert, John Miller and Andy Rose, CNN
[Breaking news update at 6:53 p.m. ET]
Police are searching for a second gunman in the shooting at a mall in Allen, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, a law enforcement source told CNN. There is at least one confirmed shooter reported deceased on the ground. He is reportedly wearing tactical gear, the source says.
There is a search for a “second gunman,” according to the police source, based on witness descriptions, although the involvement of a second shooter is not confirmed.
Police believe they have identified the vehicle of the deceased suspect, which is being examined by the bomb squad as a precaution, the source says.
[Previous reporting]
Authorities in a Dallas suburb are responding to a reported shooting at a shopping center, with ATF personnel on the scene at the Allen Premium Outlets.
The Dallas field office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives tweeted Saturday afternoon that staff are responding to an active shooter incident at a shopping mall.
An Allen Police Department dispatcher described the scene as a “shooting” but said the department was too busy to immediately provide more information.
Jaynal Pervez told CNN affiliate KTVT that he arrived at the mall after his daughter, who was inside, called him about a shooting.
“We saw the police outside the gate and they told us we had to leave and they were still looking for the person,” Pervez said. “There are no more safe places. I don’t know what to do.”
Allen police in a tweet would only call the incident “an active investigation” and asked residents to avoid the area.
Tony Wright, an Allen resident whose home is behind the Allen Premium Outlets, said his family thought they heard construction before realizing it was gunshots.
Wright said he was driving away from his home at the time and did not hear the shots, but his family called him moments later, “freaking out” and saying they heard shots.
At first, however, it was not clear.
“Everybody thought I was hammering,” he said of the noise of the gunshots that sounded like construction.
But he said that once they saw people fleeing the mall, the family closed the doors and hunkered down.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
The CNN Wire
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CNN’s Ashley Killough in Dallas contributed to this story.
