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Greenwood Park Mall shooting

Coordinates: 39°37′58″N 86°07′14″W / 39.6329°N 86.1205°W / 39.6329; -86.1205
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Greenwood Park Mall shooting
An entrance to the mall, where the shooting occurred. Seen in November 2018
Map
LocationGreenwood, Indiana, U.S.
Coordinates39°37′58″N 86°07′14″W / 39.6329°N 86.1205°W / 39.6329; -86.1205
DateJuly 17, 2022
5:56 p.m. (EDT)
Attack type
Mass shooting
Weapons
Deaths4 (including the perpetrator)
Injured2
PerpetratorJonathan Douglas Sapirman
DefenderElisjsha Dicken

On July 17, 2022, a mass shooting occurred at the Greenwood Park Mall in Greenwood, Indiana, United States. The shooting occurred at 5:56 p.m. EDT (UTC−04:00) and lasted less than one minute. Three people were killed and two others were injured in the shooting[1] before the perpetrator, 20-year-old Jonathan Sapirman, was fatally shot by 22-year-old Elisjsha Dicken, a legally-armed civilian bystander.[2]

Shooting

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Around 4:55 p.m. on July 17, 2022, Sapirman, a resident of Greenwood, walked a mile from his apartment to the mall, carrying a SIG Sauer M400 semi-automatic rifle, a Smith & Wesson M&P15 AR-15 style semi-automatic rifle, a Glock 33 pistol, and over 100 rounds of ammunition. He went into a restroom near the mall's food court and did not come out until an hour and two minutes later, at which point he started shooting.[3]

At 5:56:48 p.m. on July 17, 2022, the perpetrator began firing into the food court area of the mall.[4] He first shot and killed Indianapolis native Victor Gomez, who was standing near the restroom entrance. He then turned and fired at a nearby table, fatally shooting Pedro and Rosa Pineda, a married couple from Indianapolis. He then continued to fire at mall patrons, wounding a 22-year-old woman and a 12-year-old girl.[5][6]

Fifteen seconds after the shooting began, Elisjsha Dicken, a legally-armed 22-year-old man from Seymour, engaged the shooter in a gunfight. Dicken, a civilian bystander, was shopping with his girlfriend when the perpetrator opened fire.[7] From a distance of forty yards, Dicken fired ten rounds from a Glock 19 handgun, hitting the shooter eight times. The shooter fired once, and attempted to retreat into a restroom, but instead fell to the ground and died soon afterwards.[8][9][10]

The assailant discharged his rifle 24 times during the shooting.[11]

Afterward, Dicken approached security guards at the mall, informed them that he had neutralized the shooter, and waited for police to arrive.[7]

Investigation

[edit]

A bomb squad was also sent to the mall to investigate a suspicious backpack in one of the bathrooms near a Dick's Sporting Goods store.[12] The backpack was later deemed not to be a threat.[13]

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department stated there was no ongoing threat during a 7:45 p.m. EDT news conference on the day of the shooting.[14] Multiple agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Department of Homeland Security, and the Johnson County Sheriff's Department are assisting in the investigation.[15] However, the motive for the attack is still unclear.[16]

Greenwood's Police Chief James Ison reported that the ammunition Sapirman purchased came from a Range USA store outside Interstate 65 between the borders of Greenwood and Indianapolis which Sapirman had frequented since 2020. Family members also told Greenwood Police that Sapirman frequented a local gun range at the Range USA store and began purchasing guns from various other stores across Greenwood, Southport, and Indianapolis.[17]

CNN said that "few other details have emerged about Dicken", and that Dicken had refused to comment on events, in order to "respect the ongoing criminal investigation by the Greenwood Police Department and take time to honor the three innocent lives lost".[7]

Aftermath

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Police and EMS crews arrived at the mall shortly after the shooting and secured the building.[18] The wounded victims were sent to nearby hospitals to be treated for their injuries.[19]

Sapirman’s father and brother offered their condolences in a statement released through an attorney.[20]

Sapirman's ex-girlfriend told the city's police chief that he was not expected to reach the age of 21, as well as "taking others" and committing suicide.[21] Some of Sapirman's family members said that they were "unable to offer any explanation."[22]

The Greenwood Park Mall reopened on July 19, 2022, at 11 a.m., a little under two days after the shooting.[23]

Bystander

[edit]

The mayor of Greenwood, Mark W. Myers, commended Elisjsha Dicken for preventing additional tragedy, stating, "On behalf of the city of Greenwood, I am grateful for his quick action and heroism in this situation."[24] Governor Eric Holcomb, former Vice President Mike Pence, Senator Mike Braun, and other federal and state politicians made similar statements.[25]

In addition to the commendations for Dicken, Indiana House, Senate Democrats, Representatives Mitch Gore and André Carson also expressed their sympathies towards the victims and their families, as well as speaking about the issue of gun violence in the United States.[25] Greenwood police chief James Ison said at a news conference that Dicken was a "responsible armed citizen that took action very quickly", and that his actions had been "very proficient".[7] According to investigators, Dicken had "no police training and no military training", and was taught how to shoot by his grandfather.[7]

On July 24, 2022, Sapirman's father and older brother released a statement through an attorney conveying condolences to those affected and that they were "unable to explain [the gunman's] actions", that they were cooperating with law enforcement and that they held "no feelings of hostility toward Mr. Dicken".[26]

Perpetrator

[edit]

Jonathan Sapirman (November 30, 2001 – July 17, 2022), the shooter, was a local resident and had no adult criminal history,[27] but had gotten into a fight while attending Greenwood High School in the town of Greenwood, Indiana, and was a juvenile runaway.[28] He had a job in a warehouse, which he quit in May,[29] lived in an apartment, from which he was facing eviction by July.[29] Prior to the shooting, he burned his laptop in the oven of his apartment, put his cell phone in a toilet at the shopping center,[27][5] and allegedly made at least one post on 4chan.[30]

According to a press conference about the shooting, the shooter's most used social-media website was Reddit,[31] where across a 5-year period from 2017 to 2022, he made over 700 comments on posts about mass shooters[32][33] via his 2 Reddit accounts, u/greatergermanicreich and u/grobergermanic; however, none of the comments indicated he was planning on committing a shooting. Most of his posts were discussions or debates about other high-profile mass shootings around America. He acknowledged that he researched mass shooters and serial killers, and he seemingly enjoyed debating with others about the tactics, motives, and details about these incidents. Sapirman was also fascinated with Nazi Germany.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Police: Armed bystander shot and killed Greenwood Park Mall shooter in just 15 seconds". wthr.com. July 17, 2022. Archived from the original on July 18, 2022. Retrieved 2022-09-05.
  2. ^ "4 dead in mass shooting at Greenwood Park Mall in Indiana". BNO News. 2022-07-17. Archived from the original on July 18, 2022. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
  3. ^ Fawcett, Eliza (July 18, 2022). "Bystander Killed Gunman 2 Minutes Into Indiana Mall Shooting". The New York Times.
  4. ^ Planas, Antonio; Romero, Dennis; Chalkia, Melina (July 18, 2022). "Indiana mall shooter brought multiple weapons, good Samaritan who shot him credited with saving countless lives". NBC News. Archived from the original on July 18, 2022. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  5. ^ a b Yan, Holly; Moshtaghian, Artemis; Vera, Amir (2022-07-18). "Police identify victims, gunman and armed bystander in Indiana mall shooting". CNN. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
  6. ^ Schroeder, Joe (2022-07-17). "3 dead, 2 injured in shooting at Greenwood Park Mall, suspect killed by armed citizen". WTTV CBS4Indy. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
  7. ^ a b c d e Waldrop, Theresa (July 19, 2022). "What we know about the armed bystander who killed the shooter at an Indiana mall". CNN.
  8. ^ Albert, Victoria (19 July 2022). "Armed civilian neutralized Indiana mall shooter in just 15 seconds, authorities say". CBS News. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  9. ^ Romero, Dennis; Chalkia, Melina (2022-07-18). "Three dead after man opens fire in Indiana mall, police say shooter killed by 'good Samaritan'". NBC News. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
  10. ^ Burbrink, Jacob (2022-07-19). "TIMELINE: What happened leading up to the Greenwood Park Mall shooting". Fox 59. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
  11. ^ "Shooter fired 24 times in 15 seconds before bystander shot him dead, police say".
  12. ^ McDougall, A. J. (2022-07-17). "At Least 2 Dead, Several Injured in Indiana Mall Shooting: Cops". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on July 18, 2022. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
  13. ^ Staff report. "What we know about the shooting at Greenwood Park Mall". The Indianapolis Star. Archived from the original on July 18, 2022. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
  14. ^ "Greenwood Park Mall shooting: 3 slain victims, shooter identified in Indiana". WFTV. 2022-07-18. Retrieved 2022-07-19.
  15. ^ Wolfe, Elizabeth; Moshtaghian, Artemis (July 18, 2022). "3 people killed and 2 injured in a mass shooting at an Indiana shopping mall". CNN. Archived from the original on July 18, 2022. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
  16. ^ Jacobs, Emily (2022-07-18). "Four dead and several wounded in mass shooting at Indiana shopping mall". Washington Examiner. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
  17. ^ Fiallo, Josh (2022-07-18). "Indiana Mall Shooter Frequented Gun Range Before Unleashing Carnage". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
  18. ^ Segall, Bob (2022-07-18). "Here's what happened inside Greenwood Park Mall before, during and after the mass shooting". wthr.com. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
  19. ^ Herron, Arika; McGowan, Chloe (17 July 2022). "4 dead, including suspect, after Greenwood mall shooting in Indiana". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
  20. ^ Schroder, Joe (2022-07-23). "What we know about the suspect in Greenwood". WXIN. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
  21. ^ "Update on Jonathan Sapirman". WLWT. 2022-07-23. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
  22. ^ "Indiana mall gunman's family say they are 'unable to offer any explanation' for his actions". CNN. 2022-07-22. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
  23. ^ Essex, Richard (2022-07-19). "A walk inside the reopened Greenwood Park Mall after mass shooting". WISH-TV. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
  24. ^ Crenshaw, Noah (2022-07-18). "Local leaders, lawmakers react to Greenwood Park Mall Shooting". Daily Journal. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
  25. ^ a b Rafford, Claire (18 July 2022). "Indiana political leaders respond to Greenwood Park Mall shooting". Reporter-Times. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
  26. ^ "Family of Greenwood Park Mall shooter releases statement". WTHR. 2022-07-24.
  27. ^ a b Schroeder, Joe (2022-07-18). "Wife and husband among Greenwood mall victims; gunman identified". WTTV CBS4Indy. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
  28. ^ Crenshaw, Noah (2022-07-18). "Police identify victims, suspect in Greenwood Park Mall Shooting". Daily Journal. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
  29. ^ a b Planas, Antonio; Romero, Dennis; Chalkia, Melina (2022-07-19). "Indiana mall shooter brought multiple weapons, good Samaritan who shot him praised". NBC News. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
  30. ^ "Indiana Mall Gunman Appears to Have Posted Plans on 4chan". www.vice.com. July 20, 2022. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
  31. ^ LIVE: Greenwood Park Mall shooting update, retrieved 2022-12-22
  32. ^ "Police: Greenwood mall shooter fascinated with German Reich, yet 'no clear motive' for attack". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  33. ^ Rodgers, Arleigh; Callahan, Rick (2022-12-21). "Mall shooter told ex he would 'take others' if he died". AP NEWS. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
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