An active shooter carrying a long gun shot and killed three people before a lawfully armed bystander fatally shot him in the food court of the Greenwood Park Mall in Indiana Sunday evening.
Greenwood Police Chief Jim Ison told the Indianapolis Star that two other people were also injured in the incident.
‘It appears that he had a rifle with several magazines of ammunition, entered the food court and began shooting,’ Ison said.
The “good Samaritan” who shot the man with the rifle was a 22-year-old man from Bartholomew County, Indiana, Ison added.
“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,” Ison said.
WATCH: Police Commissioner Says He Will Confiscate Guns
Ison was immediately criticized on social media for calling the man who stopped the mass shooter a “good Samaritan” even though he saved countless lives.
The term, “Good Samaritan” came from a Bible passage of a man from Samaria who stopped on the side of the road to help a man who was injured and ignored.
— Justin Kollar (@kollarjustin) July 18, 2022
I cannot believe we live in a world where the term can equally apply to someone *killing* someone… my God. https://t.co/0a3sgzejzD
Same thing. A killing is a killing. We just like our silly little justifications so we can sleep at night.
— Aenias (@Aenias_) July 18, 2022
13WTHR reported that in all, four people were killed, including the shooter.
The three victims who died were identified as Pedro Pineda,56, his wife, Rosa Mirian Rivera de Pineda, 37, and Victor Gomez,30.
The shooter was identified as Jonathan Douglas Sapirman, 20, of Greenwood.
13WTHR summarized the events as follows:
- Sapirman had two rifles and a handgun. He was also carrying several magazines of ammunition. He only used one rifle during the shooting.
- Sapirman reportedly entered the mall at 4:54pm on July 17. He went into the bathroom where he remained for two hours and two minutes. Police reported finding Sapirman’s cell phone in the toilet in the bathroom.
- Sapirman left the bathroom and shot and killed Gomez. He then started firing into the food court, striking and killing the Pinedas. Two other people were injured during the shooting including a 12-year-old girl who was struck by a bullet fragment.
- Sapirman fired 24 rounds during the course of the shooting.
- at 5:57pm, Elisjsha Dicken, an armed civilian bystander with no police training or military background, fired on Sapirman. Dicken fired 10 rounds hitting Sapirman and killing him.
Dicken was carrying without a permit under the new Constitutional Carry law.
POLICE CHIEF ON GREENWOOD PARK MALL ARMED CITIZEN
— NRA (@NRA) July 18, 2022
"He was carrying legally under Constitutional Carry law. His actions were nothing short of heroic. He engaged the gunman from quite a distance. Was very proficient in that… He has no police training and no military background." pic.twitter.com/RsJ0VLYieR
At this time, there is no information regarding a potential motive for the shooting.
Just think how ALL the mass shootings would NOT have taken place if the assault weapons ban of 1994 was renewed and not let lapse!..just imagine..o yea you still would have killings and shootings be abuse the 2 nd amendment is not well regulated like the constitution says it can be..no way an 18 yr old punk should be able to acquire an ar15 .. o training at all is needed! No skills are needed! No background or mental evaluation is needed…but the military and law enforcement need it !..Wel you can thank the nra lobby and conservative republicans for all the deaths and the chaos that will continue because of the millions of killing machines in circulation..all you mfs better watch yer back !
It is not the inanimate object that kills .
It is the hard and/or demented heart that pulls the
trigger , creating the chaos .
The Rights , that you seem so alarmed about , are encased
in our Founding Documents . They were given to we Citizens
by our Creator , not Our government . They also allow your
hyperbolic , and bigoted rants .
“ Those that surrender liberty for security deserve neither . “
‘ Sound familiar , idiot ?
I thought not .
Whomever taught you the deranged attitudes you display ,
did you a disservice .
I am glad this mass shooting got cut short. Good guy with a gun finally gets one after what, a half-dozen or so high profile mass shootings where a good guy with a gun failed to end the shooting? One in six? Sure, that’s a great strategy.
You made the same misinformed comment in response to a similar article, so I’ll educate you once again here.
The reason more mass shooters aren’t shot by responsible gun owners is mainly because mass shooters target soft areas in gun free zones (schools, theaters, malls, etc). Weird how the mass shooters don’t care about gun free zones. Thankfully a brave citizen had a gun in the Indiana mall, which had a no gun policy, btw (which is of course why the criminal chose it). Proof positive that gun free zones should be abolished because they do nothing but get people killed. It’s a special kind of stupid (i.e. people who “think” like you) to not recognize simple facts like those. And you know who I bet wished to god they had a gun: The teachers in those classrooms at Uvalde and all the others in mass shootings who were shot and killed.
As for your comment about AR’s: I own two, along with two AK’s (and a bunch of other guns): Not once have I thought about shooting anything but targets. Ignorance and stupidity are telling when someone like you stereotypes people.
One more thing before I go: Any gun will kill a human being. Banning any type of gun will do nothing to stop mass shootings. And restricting magazine capacity will do nothing. I can change a magazine in any gun I own in less than two seconds. More facts for people like you to ignore.
Good luck to you and your misinformed / ignorant / lying friends with your gun grabbing: You’re going to need it.
Well stated Nick, although trying to educate bluedouche it/clown is a lost cause as that coward would give away his rights for a little safety , he deserves neither.
One in six is better than None in six. The mentally ill will continue to attempt mass killings regardless of any gun laws. If they cannot get guns, they will use vehicles, bombs, poison, arson, etc. The intent is to get a body count that will make the news and get them a SCORE.
Kudos to Elisjsha Dicken! A true hero. Brave men run towards danger, and cowards run from it…or stand around and listen to the screams of children being murdered.
Outstanding job. Good Samaritan all the way. We need to praise people like this.