Relatives of the 20-year-old man who gunned down three people as they shopped in an Indiana mall on Sunday afternoon have told police he was being evicted from his apartment and had been frequenting a gun range for the past two years.
Greenwood Police Chief James Ison identified the suspect Monday as 20-year-old Jonathan Sapirman. Ison said Sapirman walked to Greenwood Park Mall from his apartment on Sunday with three legally purchased guns.
He camped out in a bathroom near the mall’s food court for over an hour before exiting and firing at least 24 rounds from a Sig Sauer Model M400 5.56-caliber rifle. But police said he was quickly taken out from long distance by a “good Samaritan” carrying a legal handgun, identified by police as 22-year-old Elisjsha Dicken.
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The 22-year-old had no police training and no military background, and he even motioned for bystanders to exit behind him as he “moved in” on the shooter, said Ison, who described him as “nothing short of heroic.”
Police said Sapirman fatally shot Victor Gomez, 30, before striking a couple as they ate dinner, identified as Pedro Pineda, 56, and his wife, Rosa Mirian Rivera de Pineda, 37. Two others were injured in the shooting, including a 12-year-old girl.
Ison said both local and federal law enforcement are yet to identify a motive in the shooting. He said Sapirman’s family members told police they were shocked by the shooting.
“They are just as surprised as everyone else,” Ison said. “There were no indicators he was violent.”
Family members also told police that Sapirman frequented a local gun range and began purchasing guns from local stores in March, Ison said.
Ison said Sapirman had no criminal record as an adult but was once a runaway before he turned 18 and had been arrested for fights in school. He is from Greenwood and resigned from a warehouse job in May. Ison said investigators have not yet been able to confirm that he was being evicted.
“I grieve for these senseless killings and I ache for the scars that are left behind for the victims and our community,” said Mayor Mark Myers.
Sapirman had over 100 rounds on him when he was killed, Ison said. The bullets were purchased at Range USA, which Sapirman frequented over the past two years.
After unleashing carnage, Sapirman tried to retreat back to the bathroom, where he had left two guns and ditched his cellphone in one of the stalls. But, before he could make it back, Ison says Sapirman was shot by Dicken and collapsed to the ground.
Dicken, who told police he was just shopping at the mall with his girlfriend, fired 10 shots from his handgun. He gave police permission to identify him publicly on Monday but asked for privacy until he could properly process what happened.
“We’re very thankful for a young 22-year-old man who stopped this violent act,” said Myers. “This young man, Greenwood’s good Samaritan, reacted within seconds, stopping the shooter and saving countless lives.”
