We’ve written about the actions of the “good guy with a gun” Eli Dicken — the 22-year-old hero who shot and killed the Greenwood Park Mall mass shooter in Greenwood, Indiana.
But Dicken’s actions were even more amazing when you look at the circumstances.
As my colleague Alex Parker explained, the killer came loaded for bear.
The shooter was armed with a Sig Sauer 400M 5.56-caliber rifle.
He had a Smith & Wesson M&P 15 5.56 on reserve in the restroom.
A Glock 33 .357 pistol was on his person.
He was armed with over 100 rounds.
He’d been frequently practicing at a range for the past two years.
He had resigned from his warehouse job in May.
Police were told by family they believe he’d received a notice of eviction.
More details are emerging that show how God must have been with Dicken in his actions, because they surely were amazing.
The killer went into the bathroom near the food court, preparing for the attack. When he finally came out and started shooting, Dicken saw him and his rifle from 40 yards away and immediately understood what was happening. The shooter shot and killed three people. He injured two. The initial police report was that it took Dicken two minutes to respond to the shooter. But that wasn’t true. The police just corrected that. Dicken neutralized the shooter within 15 seconds of him starting to shoot, an astounding reaction, doubtless saving countless other lives.
#BreakingNews Greenwood police revise timeline–now say Armed Citizen Eli Dicken neutralized mall shooter in a mere 15 seconds–not 2 minutes as previously stated.#GreenwoodParkMall @WTHRcom pic.twitter.com/4sV7VA1drp
— annemariewthr (@AnneMarieWTHR) July 19, 2022
These pictures show what the food court looked like, and how Dicken would have had a good line of sight to the shooter coming out of the bathroom.
First pic is the #GreenwoodParkMall food court. Second pic shows approx. locations of where shooter & Dicken were. Within 15 seconds of shooting started, police say Dicken fired 10 shots, killing suspect. Autopsy shows suspect hit 8x, none of those self-inflicted GSW. https://t.co/mCCmqeSnFD pic.twitter.com/V0rHqsVl40
— Courtney Spinelli (@CourtSpinelliTV) July 20, 2022
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Dicken engaged him from about 30 yards away and hit him with eight of ten shots, taking him down and preventing him from retreating into the bathroom. Astounding.
Police say Dicken, who was armed only with a handgun, engaged the shooter from a distance of an estimated 30 yards. Police say he was ‘very proficient’ and ‘tactically sound.’ He had no previous police training, authorities say.
— Courtney Spinelli (@CourtSpinelliTV) July 20, 2022
Not only that, but Dicken had the presence of mind to tell other people to get out of the way and to “leave behind him.”
More: Police say Dicken started making his way towards the gunman, motioning for people to leave behind him. The gunman tried to retreat back into the restroom, but was taken down before he had the chance. #Greenwood
— Courtney Spinelli (@CourtSpinelliTV) July 20, 2022
It shows you the difference between one young man who was ready and willing to act and close to 400 who failed to act as they should have in Uvalde.
God bless this young man.
Eli Dicken, hero in the Greenwood Park Mall shooting, is seen here. His attorney released this photo of him Monday night. pic.twitter.com/NyxzIyNsa7
— Breann Boswell – 14 News (@breannboswell_) July 19, 2022
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