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A 53-year-old man identified as John Darrel Schultz of Kempner
drove a truck and crashed into the department store in Killeen,
about 70 miles (110 kilometers) north of the state capital
Austin, on Saturday afternoon and continued into the building,
striking people as he went, according to Sgt. Bryan Washko of
the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Emergency medical services transported four victims from the
mall to area hospitals and another traveled to a hospital
separately. They ranged in age from 6 to 75 years old and their
conditions were not immediately known, he said.
The chase began around 5 p.m. on Interstate 14 in Belton, about
20 miles (30 kilometers) from Killeen, after authorities
received calls about an erratic driver in a black pickup, Ofelia
Miramontez of the Killeen Police Department said.
Schultz then pulled off the road and drove into the parking lot
of the mall.
“The suspect drove through the doors and continued to drive
through the JCPenney store, striking multiple people,” Washko
said. “The trooper and the Killeen police officer continued on
foot after this vehicle, which was driving through the store,
actively running people over. He traveled several hundred
yards.”
Officers from the state public safety department, Killeen and
three other law enforcement agencies “engaged in gunfire to
eliminate this threat,” Washko said.
One of the officers who traded gunfire with the suspect was
working as a security guard at the mall and others were off
duty, he said.
Witnesses interviewed by local news outlets outside the mall
said they heard multiple gunshots and saw people fleeing through
the mall.
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