BBC News:
A gunman has shot and killed eight people shopping at a mall north of Dallas, Texas, emergency services say.
Hundreds of people were evacuated from the mall in the city of Allen, as eyewitnesses described a man firing indiscriminately at passers-by.
Police said they shot the gunman dead and believe he acted alone.
Some of the victims are reported to be children. At least seven people are being treated in hospital, three of whom are critically ill.
Allen Fire Chief Jonathan Boyd said seven people – including the gunman – were pronounced dead at the scene and two died later in hospital.
A police officer “heard gunshots, went to the gunshots, engaged the suspect and neutralised the suspect”, Allen Police Chief Brian Harvey said.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott described the shooting as an “unspeakable tragedy” and said the state was ready to offer any assistance to local authorities.
Police have asked members of the public with video captured at the scene to contact the FBI, as they collect evidence.
Some witnesses described the gunman as dressed all in black and wearing combat gear.
“I heard about ten pops go off, then ten to fifteen more shots – we see this guy dressed all in black, a vest, just shooting at people,” said one, adding “we just got to the back of the store”.
A video clip from the scene showed people running for cover across a parking lot as a series of shots rang out.
One eyewitness, Fontayne Payton, told the AP news agency he heard gunshots though his headphones as he shopped at H&M.
When people were allowed to leave the mall, he described seeing bodies outside.
“I pray it wasn’t kids, but it looked like kids,” he said. “It broke me when I walked out to see that.”
There have been at least 198 mass shootings – in which four or more people were killed or wounded – in the US so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. That is the most at this point in the year since at least 2016.
Earlier this week police in Texas arrested a man accused of shooting dead five neighbours, including a nine-year-old boy.
