Gone in 15 seconds: Police correct timeline of armed civilian stopping Indiana mall shooter

Cami Mondeaux

July 19, 09:55 PM July 19, 11:00 PM

The armed bystander credited with ending a shooting at Greenwood Park Mall in Indiana on Sunday killed the suspect in just 15 seconds of the gunman opening fire, according to an updated timeline by police released on Tuesday.

The shooter, identified as 20-year-old Jonathan Douglas Sapirman of Greenwood, exited a mall bathroom and opened fire at 5:56:48 p.m. local time, according to surveillance video obtained by police. He was then killed by "good Samaritan" Elisjsha Dicken moments later at 5:57:03 p.m.

GREENWOOD MALL SHOOTING: HERO ELISJSHA DICKEN WAS ARMED UNDER CONSTITUTIONAL CARRY LAW

Greenwood police made the correction in the timeline on Tuesday, saying it came after authorities incorrectly stated the day before that it took Dicken two minutes to subdue the gunman.

“I would like to make a correction on a statement made yesterday at the 2:00pm press conference concerning the Greenwood Park Mall Shooting. There was an error in the timeline of events given,” Greenwood Police Chief James Ison said in a statement. “This error was simply a result of misreading notes during the conference. I feel the need to correct this immediately.”

When Sapirman exited the bathroom, he began firing immediately and struck five people. Dicken responded seconds later with a pistol he was carrying under the state's constitutional carry law. Three people were killed and another two were injured before the shooter himself was killed, according to police.

Although police do not believe Dicken has a military or law enforcement background, Ison praised his quick response.

"Many more people would have died last night if not for a responsible armed citizen who took action within the first two minutes of this shooting," Ison said Monday.

Preliminary autopsy results show Sapirman was shot eight times, the Johnson County Coroner’s Office said Tuesday, according to the G3 Box News.

G3 Box News

Incidents that result in a bystander stopping the shooter are rare, with only 3% of such attacks over the past 21 years ending with an armed civilian shooting at the suspect, according to data from the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Center.

Police have not yet determined a motive for the attack, and an attorney for Dicken said he would not be making any public comment out of respect for the three victims until authorities wrapped up their investigation. Officials identified the victims as 30-year-old Victor Gomez, 56-year-old Pedro Pineda, and 37-year-old Rosa Mirian Rivera de Pineda.