The late gunman who carried out the shooting at a mall in Greenwood, Indiana, two weekends ago has been identified, as have his three victims and the bystander who ultimately stopped the murder spree.
Jonathan Douglas Sapirman, 20, killed three people and wounded two in the shooting at Greenwood Park Mall, approximately 15 miles south of Indianapolis.
Sapirman was ultimately killed by an armed bystander, 22-year-old Elisjsha Dicken.
Surveillance video captured Sapirman entering the mall near the food court area at approximately 5 p.m. on Sunday, July 17. He was carrying a backpack that is believed to have contained a disassembled semi-automatic rifle, possibly an AR-15 or similar-style firearm.
Sapirman entered a mall bathroom. Police indicate the man stayed in the bathroom for more than an hour.
Upon exiting the bathroom, Sapirman shot Victor Gomez, 30, who later died at Saint Francis Hospital and Health Center in Indianapolis. The gunman then headed to the food court area, where he opened fire on a couple eating dinner.
Pedro Pineda, 56, and Rosa Mirian Rivera de Pineda, 37, each sustained multiple gunshot wounds. Pineda died at the scene; his wife died later at Eskenazi Hospital, also in Indianapolis.
Sapirman continued shooting, unloading 24 rounds in under two minutes before being killed by Dicken. The two people wounded in the remaining gunfire were a 22-year-old woman struck in the leg and a 12-year-old girl hit by a bullet that ricocheted off a wall.
Dicken, who had been shopping at the mall with his girlfriend, was carrying a Glock handgun. After steadying himself against a pole, he shot at Sapirman 10 times from approximately 40 yards away.
Sapirman had attempted to head back into the nearby bathroom when Dicken began firing his weapon, causing the former to collapse. Autopsy results on Sapirman, released July 19, indicate that Dicken shot him eight times.
After Sapirman was killed, investigators discovered a handgun and a waistband holster on his body. In addition, Sapirman was carrying more than 100 rounds of ammunition housed in several magazines.
An investigation of the bathroom used by Sapirman resulted in the discovery of another rifle. Both rifles had been legally purchased from a gun store in Greenwood in March of this year.
Greenwood Park Mall’s owner, Simon Property Group, has a code of conduct that states that no weapons are allowed at their shopping centers. However, a new Constitutional Carry law was enacted in Indiana at the start of July. It allows individuals to carry handguns in public without needing a permit.
Although many in law enforcement in Indiana had opposed that new law, Greenwood’s police chief, Jim Isom, praised Dicken as a hero, saying that he saved others from being shot.
“Many 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,” Isom said.
The young man considered an American hero goes by the name Eli. He said he learned how to shoot from his grandfather and has had no police or military training.
