The Good Samaritan, who shot dead the Indiana mall shooter, has been identified as Elisjsha Dicken. Police on Monday named Dicken, 22, as the bystander who pulled out his own weapon and shot dead the gunman after he saw him open fire inside the Greenwood Park Mall. He has since been hailed a hero by the police for his quick thinking.
Alongside, police identified Jonathan Douglas Sapirman, 20, as the shooter, who carried out the attack with AR-style rifle, killing three people and seriously injuring two others. Sapirman, reportedly carried two rifles, a pistol and at least 100 rounds of ammunition inside the shopping mall.
A Real Hero
Dicken was one of the many shoppers who were at the mall when Sapirman opened fire inside the food court. Dicken didn't panic. Instead, he sensed that there was an active shooter and quickly pulled out his own weapon and started firing at Sapirman and killed him almost immediately.
According to police, Sapirman was killed within two minutes after he started shooting randomly near and inside the food court of the Greenwood Park Mall. Dicken is now being hailed as a hero for his quick thinking.
"His actions were nothing short of heroic," Greenwood Police Chief Jim Ison said on Monday.
"He engaged the gunman from quite a distance with a handgun, was very proficient in that, very tactically sound. And as he moved to close in on the suspect, he was also motioning for people to exit behind him."
However, according to Ison, there is no proof that Dicken has any experience in the military or in law enforcement.
Dickens' lawyer requested anonymity for Dickens and his family on Monday night.
"Because we want to respect the on-going criminal investigation by the Greenwood Police Department and take time to honor the three innocent lives lost, we won't be making any substantive comments on Sunday's events until after the authorities' investigation is closed," said the attorney, Guy Relford.
Saving 'Countless Lives'
Police said that the incident could have been deadlier had Dicken not acted on time and thanked him for saving "countless lives." Not much is known about Dicken and police didn't say anything on why Dicken was carrying a gun while being out with his girlfriend shopping.
Before opening fire in the food court, Sapirman waited in the mall bathroom for an hour. He used a Sig Sauer 400M rifle that he legally bought in March this year from a nearby gun shop. Sapirman remained in the restroom for 62 minutes before coming out and opening fire near and into the mall's food court.
Three people were shot dead, who have been identified as Pedro Pineda, 56, Rosa Mirian Rivera de Pineda, 37, and Victor Gomez, 30. It's unknown if he shot them randomly or if he had specific targets in mind.
Authorities claimed that despite being highly armed, Sapirman only fired his SIG Sauer gun when he started shooting. Police said that investigators recovered 24 rounds fired by Sapirman and 10 rounds fired by Dicken.
Police haven't said anything about Sapirman's motive. However, they said that Sapirman was recently evicted from his apartment, according to his family.
Authorities also said that Sapirman didn't have a criminal history as an adult, but the police were aware of two incidences from when he was a minor—one in which he got into a fight at school and the other in which he ran away from home. His family hasn't responded to the tragedy in any way.
According to police, Sapirman lived on his own after being evicted. He had also resigned from a warehouse job in May, Ison said.
Not much is known about Sapirman. Police too are tightlipped given that an investigation into the case is ongoing, with the FBI, ATF, Department of Homeland security and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police all assisting.
