A gunman killed three people when he opened fire in the food court of a shopping mall outside Indianapolis in America’s latest mass shooting.
Sunday evening’s attack was stopped by a “hero” bystander who was carrying a firearm and killed the assailant.
Two other people were injured in the incident at Greenwood Park Mall, the Indianapolis Star reported.
“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,” Greenwood Police Chief Jim Ison said.
He described the armed bystander as a 22-year-old man.
The gunman was alone and had a rifle and several magazines of ammunition, according to the newspaper.
Police did not release the names of the victims, gunman or bystander. Shoppers and mall employees fled at the sound of gunfire or hid.
The shootings occurred amid widespread concerns over recent US gun attacks in schools, workplaces and public areas that regularly make headlines.
A spate of massacres since May at a New York grocery store, a Texas elementary school and an Illinois Independence Day parade have renewed fierce US debate over gun laws.
The US House Judiciary Committee will take up proposed legislation this week that would ban certain assault weapons, the panel said on Friday. It is not expected to pass the Senate.
