KILLEEN, Texas (KXAN) — A driver was shot and killed by law enforcement officers after driving a truck into a busy mall on Saturday night, injuring five people, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
At around 5 p.m., a DPS trooper tried to stop a black pickup truck after a 911 caller reported a possible intoxicated driver in Belton, about 20 miles from Killeen. The driver refused to stop, prompting a chase, DPS explained during a Saturday night press conference.
The pickup then turned into the parking lot of the Killeen Mall, nearly 70 miles north of Austin, before driving into the building, striking people as it went.
“The suspect drove through the doors and continued to drive through the JCPenney store, striking multiple people,” Sgt. Bryan Washko of the Texas Department of Public Safety said in an evening news briefing. “The trooper and the Killeen police officer continued on foot after this vehicle, which was driving through the store, actively running people over. He traveled several hundred yards.”
At least five people were injured by the vehicle, according to DPS. Four victims were taken to area hospitals, while another traveled to a hospital separately. They ranged in age from 6 to 75 years old and their conditions were not immediately known, Washko said.
Troopers and Killeen Police officers followed the truck into the mall on foot, linking up with off-duty officers from three other local agencies.
Officers from the state public safety department, Killeen, and the off-duty officers “engaged in gunfire to eliminate this threat,” Washko said. The Texas Rangers will investigate the shooting.
Washko did not have information about the suspect's identity at the time of the briefing.
A public information officer for DPS said posts sharing misinformation spread rapidly online in the midst of the incident, including several seen by Nexstar's KXAN that claimed there was an active shooter within the Killeen Mall.
At around 6 p.m. Killeen Police said on Facebook that there was no active shooter in the mall, adding that while the mall and surrounding area were "secure," the public should avoid it.
Daniel Bartlett was at work at JC Penney when the incident happened. He said he was in the store's backroom when he heard gunshots and ran into the store to help people get out, not knowing what happened.
"It's, it's only what, four days till Christmas? And so there's a lot of shoppers, and, you know, there's a lot of people that are running," Bartlett explained. "There's only two entrances to get out, and so people are running out the salon entrance, and I go, and I hold the door open to help people out because people are panicking."
"I didn't know someone drove through our store. All I knew is that there was gunshots."
Bartlett told KXAN he also helped people get into a safe area within the store office before returning to the shopping floor, and that's when he saw the destruction.
"So I get out there and I'm looking for co-workers, and that's when I see the destruction. It is clean through."
Bartlett said he'd never seen anything like it.
"I don't know. I really don't. It's just ... you never expect anything like this to happen, and the best you can do is stay calm."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
