Allen Police released body camera video Wednesday showing a police officer tracking the sounds of gunfire to take down a gunman at the Allen Premium Outlets last month. The video's release comes two days after the officer was cleared of any wrongdoing by a Collin County grand jury.
The grand jury heard the use of force case on Monday and "no billed" the officer who fatally shot the gunman, saying his use of force was justified. Deadly use of force incidents are independently reviewed to ensure the action taken by the officer was in accordance with state law.
On May 6, a man armed with several weapons stopped his car in the south parking lot and opened fire on shoppers at the sprawling outdoor shopping center killing eight people and wounding seven others. Among those killed were three children, including two young sisters and a little boy who died alongside his parents. Three other adults were killed, including a mall security guard who died helping direct shoppers to safety.
Following the grand jury's decision on Monday, the Allen Police Department released the officer's body camera footage from the day of the shooting. The five-and-a-half-minute video was edited to remove coarse language and blur the faces and bodies of civilians and victims.
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In the statement, Allen Police Chief Brian Harvey praised the officer.
“This video shows how quickly a routine interaction with the public turned into a life-and-death situation,” Harvey said. “The officer recognized the danger, ran toward the gunfire and neutralized the threat – and for his actions, the Allen community is forever grateful.”
The video, which is embedded below, begins with the officer casually talking to a woman and her two children about seatbelt safety. Moments later, the sound of rapid gunfire erupts in the distance. The woman quickly lowers her head and moves her children out of the way as the officer reaches inside his patrol vehicle for a rifle and notifies dispatchers he's heard gunshots.
The officer runs toward the stores, tracking the sounds of gunfire as they grew louder and louder the closer he gets. As he continues moving toward the blasts, shouting at people to leave the area and take cover.
About a minute and 40 seconds after the first shots were heard in the video, the officer reached the outside of the H&M store where he encountered the first victims.
"I believe we've got a mass shooter. I've got a magazine on the ground. I'm passing injured," the officer, growing breathless, could be heard saying into his radio. "I'm moving as fast as I can to try to get over there."
The officer continues to run through the outside galleries of the outlet as the sound of gunfire bursts continues.
About three minutes into the video, the officer fires his first shots at the gunman. As the shooting subsided, the officer then continued to cautiously move toward the gunman while calling out to other officers arriving at the scene.
"I'm moving up on him ... watch your fire! I got him down," the officer said.
Another officer then confirms the gunman is dead.
The video ends with the two officers standing next to the gunman's body, which is blurred out.
Allen Police said they have requested a comprehensive and independent review of the incident by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) to offer insight and best practices for future training and emergency response.
ALLEN POLICE RELEASE BODY CAMERA VIDEO
Warning: The video below is disturbing and a high level of discretion is recommended before viewing.
ALLEN MALL SHOOTING
On May 31, the mall reopened to shoppers though the mall's more than 100 retailers each had the flexibility to set their own hours and resume business at their own pace. Mall officials, meanwhile, said they are moving forward with plans for a permanent memorial to honor the victims. Details about the memorial will be released at a later date.
EXPERT OPINION
"His actions, words can't really describe what he did and how many lives are saved because of him," said Craig Miller, a retired Dallas Police Deputy Chief and Dallas ISD Chief.
He sat down with NBC 5 to watch the video that is around lasts about 5 minutes and 15 seconds.
"This officer was prepared he did exactly what he needed to do and the reason why so many lives were saved were because of his actions," said Miller.
"We can see from the video there are bodies he's passing, he knows this person is dangerous and he knows in his mind he's not thinking about himself at all, he's really thinking, 'What can I do to stop this person from hurting people,' and that is an unbelievable human trait that he had and he just exemplified what you need to do," said Miller.
He described how the officer, who has not been officially named, went from community policing to dealing with an active shooter.
"It's a day in the life of a police officer, going from zero to 100 and then having to take that shot going back to zero so you can calmly do what you need to do," said Miller.
He also highlighted how the officer contacted dispatch, remained calm, took a minute to think and grabbed his rifle, which proved to be needed regarding the distance at which he shot the gunman.
"The shot that he was able to fire that took him down from that distance was an incredible shot and his actions are so heroic," said Miller.
"In our society today we use 'hero' and 'Rockstar' too liberally, but when I look at this and I see this from having been a police officer for 38 years, I can't imagine what he was doing and the way he was able to remain as calm and do the things that he did," said Miller.
