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Sunday December 22, 2024
(KILLEEN, Texas) -- Five people were hurt after a man fleeing troopers drove a truck "several hundred yards" through the entrance of a mall on Saturday in Killeen, Texas, the Texas Department of Public Safety said.
Four people were injured as the driver was "actively running people over" and a fifth later went to the hospital on their own, Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Bryan Washko said during a news conference Saturday evening.
The man driving the truck was fatally shot after multiple law enforcement officers fired their weapons, including three who were off-duty, Washko said.
The victims' ages ranged from 6 to 75, Washko said.
The suspect has not yet been identified.
The incident began unfolding about 5 p.m. local time when state troopers attempted to stop the suspect, who was driving a black pickup truck, on suspicion of possible DUI, Washko. The driver kept going, eventually entering the parking lot of the Killeen Mall, and then drove through glass doors of a JCPenney, striking multiple people, according to Washko.
Authorities are investigating whether it was an intentional act or whether the man drove into the mall entrance "out of desperation because he was being pursued," Washko said.
"Thankfully he was stopped when he was, because it could have been so much worse," Washko said. "This mall is pretty busy at this time of year."
Initial calls for the incident reported an active shooter, but that did not turn out to be the case, he said.
Killeen, a city of nearly 160,000 residents, is located about 70 miles north of Austin.
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