'Senseless killings': Police release new details in Greenwood Park Mall shooting

A 20-year-old man walked to Greenwood Mall Park on Sunday and headed straight to the bathroom. Inside the backpack he carried were two rifles. Also in his possession — more than 100 rounds of ammunition and a pistol.

One hour and two minutes later, he walked out of the restroom and opened fire into the food court, carrying out a mass shooting minutes before the mall's closing that police said rocked them to their core.

Greenwood Police Chief Jim Ison on Monday released new details about the moments leading up to the shooting that claimed the lives of a husband and wife and a 30-year-old man. The violence also left a 22-year-old woman with a gunshot wound to the leg and injured a 12-year-old girl who was hit with a ricocheting bullet fragment.

The Johnson County Coroner’s Office identified the victims as Victor Gomez of Indianapolis, Pedro Piñeda, 56, and Rosa Mirian Rivera de Piñeda, 37.

The shooting ended in 15 seconds when an armed bystander from Seymour fired his pistol at the assailant, killing him. The bystander, Elisjsha Dicken, is being praised as a hero.

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“Many more people would have died last night if not for a responsible, armed citizen that took action very quickly within the first two minutes of this shooting,” Ison said.

Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers on Monday said he “aches” for the impact the shooting will leave on families and the community, while expressing sorrow that the town has become the latest site of gun violence waged in a public setting in the country — a fact that’s prompted condolences from state, local and even White House officials, he said.

“I grieve for these senseless killings and I ache for the scars that are left behind the victims and on our community,” he said.

The shooter was identified Monday as Jonathan Douglas Sapirman.

In the hours after the shooting, police raided the gunman’s apartment, located approximately a mile away from the mall. Ison said officers found the apartment’s oven turned on to a “high temperature” with a laptop and a can of butane inside.

Ison said he wouldn’t speculate on the gunman's intentions regarding the oven, but noted police retrieved the laptop, which has heat damage, and is being sent to Quantico, Virginia for the FBI to analyze. Police also retrieved a cellphone from a toilet in the mall’s bathroom that the gunman is believed to have dropped before the shooting spree.

Police said they have not determined a motive in the shooting, but on Monday shared a timeline of events based on surveillance video and interviews.

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How the shooting unfolded

Surveillance video showed the gunman walked into the mall at 4:54 p.m. through the building’s entrance near the food court, Ison said. He went directly to the food court restroom wearing a waistband holster with several magazines. In his backpack were a Sig Sauer Model 400m rifle — the only gun he used in the shooting — and an M&P 15 5.56 rifle. On his person was a Glock 33 pistol.

Officials say the shooter practiced with the guns that were purchased at a Greenwood gun store March 8-9.

He spent an hour and two minutes inside the restroom. Ison said police believe he was “preparing” to carry out the shooting. Almost immediately after leaving the bathroom, he shot Gomez. He then pointed the rifle into the food court where the Piñedas were eating dinner and shot them.

Dicken then “engaged” the shooter, police said, and fired several rounds at the assailant who tried to retreat into the bathroom.

Police said 24 rounds were fired by the shooter in all. Dicken fired 10.

“I will say his actions were nothing short of heroic,” Ison said, adding that Dicken was carrying a gun legally under the state’s new constitutional carry law.

The shooter died at the scene.

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As the gunfire began, chaos ensued.

Chris Roy, assistant manager of the Van’s shoe store, said he saw people running through the hallway, away from the food court as the gunfire began, and he immediately sprung to action.

They hadn’t heard gunshots, he told IndyStar, but saw enough people running to not ask questions.

Mall patrons who ran away to escape left behind a number of various belongings, including cellphones, wallets and shopping bags.

In the hours after the shooting, both federal and local law enforcement raided the gunman’s residence. There, they found the oven running at high heat with a laptop and butane can inside.

Ison said the man’s family informed investigators that the shooter had received an eviction notice, a point that is being verified through a subpoena to the apartment complex.

How to retrieve personal items left behind

Police are asking anyone who’s either missing or left behind a personal item inside the mall to retrieve their belongings at the Greenwood Police Training Center at 736 Loews Boulevard between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday. People are further asked to bring an ID with them so officers can positively identify them when returning the property.

A spokesman for the mall said the building will reopen at 11 a.m. Tuesday.

Corrections & Clarifications: This article was updated to reflect the time lapse from when the shooting started to when Elisjsha Dicken "neutralized" the suspected shooter. Greenwood police updated the timeline to 15 seconds from shooting start to end.

Contact Sarah Nelson at sarah.nelson@indystar.com or 317-503-7514.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: 'Senseless': Police release details in Greenwood Park Mall shooting