A pickup truck driver fleeing police burst through the doors of a JCPenney store in a busy Texas mall, injuring five people before he was fatally shot by officers, authorities said.
A 53-year-old man, identified as John Darrel Schultz of Kempner, drove a truck Saturday afternoon and crashed into the department store in Killeen, about 70 miles (110 kilometers) north of the capital, Austin, and then drove into the building, striking people as he went, according to Sgt. Bryan Washko of the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Emergency medical services transported four victims from the mall to area hospitals and another traveled separately to a hospital. They ranged in age from 6 to 75 and their conditions were not immediately known, he said.
The pursuit began around 5 p.m. on Interstate 14 in Belton, about 20 miles from Killeen, after authorities received calls about an erratic driver in a black pickup, said Ofelia Miramontez of the Killeen Police Department.
Schultz then drove off the road and into the mall parking lot.
“The suspect drove through the doors and continued to drive through the JCPenney store, striking multiple people,” Washko said. “The trooper and Killeen police officer continued on foot after this vehicle, which was driving through the store and actively running over people. He traveled a few hundred meters.”
Officers from the state Public Safety Department, Killeen and three other law enforcement agencies “engaged in gunfire to eliminate this threat,” Washko said.
One of the officers who exchanged gunfire with the suspect worked as a security guard at the mall and others were off duty, he said.
Witnesses interviewed outside the mall by local news media said they heard multiple gunshots and saw people fleeing through the mall.
Download the FREE WPXI News App for the latest news alerts.
Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook And Tweet. | Check out WPXI NOW
