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New details about the deadly weekend mall shooting in Greenwood, Indiana, were released Monday, including the identities of the three victims and the bystander who ended up killing the shooter.
The alleged shooter, 20, opened fire with an AR-15-style rifle around 6:00 p.m. Sunday at Greenwood Park Mall, located south of Indianapolis, firing 24 shots in the space of two minutes before a Good Samaritan intervened and to kill the shooter, city Police Chief James Ison said at a news conference.
The Johnson and Marion County medical examiner’s offices identified the slain victims as an Indianapolis couple — Pedro Pineda, 56, and Rosa Mirian Rivera de Pineda, 37 — and Victor Gomez, 30, also of Indianapolis. A woman and a 12-year-old girl, hit by shrapnel, were injured in the attack, police said.
The bystander has been identified as Elisha Dicken, 22, of Seymour, who was shopping at the mall with her girlfriend, Ison said. The chief called Dicken’s quick actions “nothing short of heroic.”
POLICE SAY ‘GOOD SAMARITAN’ PREVENTED INITIAL LOSS OF LIFE IN INDIANA MALL SHOOTING: ‘TACTICALLY GOOD’
“He engaged the shooter from quite a distance with a pistol and was very skilled at it, very tactical sounding,” Ison said of Dicken. “And as he moved closer to approach the suspect, he also motioned for people to come out behind him.”
Elisha Dicken, 22, of Seymour, has been identified as the bystander who shot and killed a gunman who opened fire Sunday at Greenwood Park Mall in Greenwood, Indiana. (The Dicken Family)
Dicken fired 10 rounds from his gun, according to the chief, and that as he fired, the shooter “tried to retreat back into the restroom and failed and fell to the ground after being shot.”
“He’s my little brother,” Dicken’s brother Cameron told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. “And he’s an amazing kid, and I’ve never been more proud of anyone in my entire life. What he did was selfless and amazing.”
He continued: “And he did what he did because it was the right thing to do, not for fame or glory, but because he knew he couldn’t just stand by and let this keep happening.”
Dicken’s attorney, Guy A. Relford, said his client acted heroically in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“He is a true American hero who saved countless lives during a horrific event that could have been much worse if not for Eli’s courage, willingness and willingness to protect others,” Relford said.
Greenwood Police Chief James Ison speaks during a press conference at the Greenwood Center in Greenwood, Indiana, on Monday. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
The shooter entered the mall and went into a bathroom, where he spent about an hour before coming out and opening fire, police said. Investigators believe he spent that time preparing and possibly assembling a disassembled rifle he brought in his backpack.
A truck blocks the entrance to the closed Greenwood Park Mall in Greenwood, Indiana, on Monday. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
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Investigators found a second AR-15 rifle in the bathroom. They also found a gun, a belt holster and several magazines that contained more than 100 rounds of ammunition on the deceased shooter.
After Sunday’s shooting, police gathered outside the Dick’s Sporting Goods store at Greenwood Park Mall in Greenwood, Indiana. (Facebook/@Ty JS)
Ison said the Greenwood shooter apparently faced eviction before opening fire at the mall, and the suspect’s family had no indication anything was wrong or that he might be violent.
The chief said investigators are still trying to determine a motive.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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