According to an eyewitness, the shooter walked slowly along the sidewalk and fired indiscriminately.

Allen Texas Premium Outlets
active shooter pic.twitter.com/2BZH8H62Ja

— Bro gamer (@jordank73109555) May 6, 2023

Videos posted to social media show shoppers fleeing stores as shots are fired.

Dozens of shoppers and employees were escorted by police to the exit of the Allen Premium Outlets mall, which has about 120 stores and is located 40 kilometers northeast of Dallas.

Nine victims were taken to hospitals. Two of them died from their injuries, three were hospitalized in critical condition, four were reported to have escaped danger.

Warning: disturbing video. Mass shooting in Allen, Texas. The shooter gets out of a silver car and opens fire on several customers near the mall. pic.twitter.com/j9UmR9ucIR

— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) May 6, 2023

The motives of the shooter, who is believed to have acted alone, remain unclear, Allen Police Chief Brian Harvey told a news conference.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called the attack “an unspeakable tragedy,” saying the state was ready to provide any help needed by the city of Allen.

Gun assaults are a scourge in the US, where there have been 198 mass shootings since the start of the year, according to the dedicated Gun Violence Archive website.

This number is the highest recorded (at this time of year) since 2016.

with information from Reuters, AFP, APE-MPE