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Multiple people injured in Houston strip mall shooting

Monday, 26 September 2016 1:03 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 26 September 2016 3:17 PM ]

Police respond to a shooting near a mall in southwest Houston, Texas, September 26, 2016. (Photo by KPRC2)

Multiple people have been injured during a shooting at a strip mall in Houston, Texas, according to media reports.

In a statement on Twitter, Houston police confirmed that “several people” were shot by a suspect on Monday morning.

Paramedics were dispatched at about 6:30 to reports of an active shooter situation at a Petco Store in the southwest of the city, Houston Fire Department spokesman Jay Evans told NBC News.

Some media reports said that nine people were shot and injured.

Six of the victims were taken to area hospital but the severity of their injuries was not immediately known.

A fire official said that some were shot while inside their cars outside the mall.

Police later said that the suspect was shot and killed by an officer. No other suspects were reported.

Witnesses told local media that the gunman had been shooting for at least 15 minutes before officers arrived. A witness said he heard about 100 “steady gunshots” being fired.

A bomb squad was sent to the scene after a suspicious vehicle was discovered, according to local media.

Police Chief Martha Montalvo told reporters later in the day that the suspect was a lawyer who lived in the neighborhood. However, he did not release the identity of the suspect.

The shooting came days after a shooting at a shopping mall in Washington State which left five people dead.

On September 17, a 20-year-old man stabbed 10 people at a mall in central Minnesota before being shot dead by an off-duty officer. The FBI is investigating that attack as a potential act of terrorism.

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