A legally armed shopper stopped the 16-year-old suspect in a Texas mall shooting that ended with one dead and three others injured.
The El Paso Police Department reported that a confrontation on Wednesday inside the Cielo Vista Mall resulted in the shooting death of 17-year-old Angeles Zaragoza. Officials believe it began with a confrontation between two groups of young people.
Police say the incident between the combatants grew into a “physical fight” at around 5:05 p.m.
Besides the fatality, the suspect also allegedly shot and wounded a 17-year-old Hispanic male, a 20-year-old Hispanic male, and a 15-year-old boy.
The 16-year-old alleged shooter was reportedly in possession of a stolen handgun. When the initial shooting ended, law enforcement said the suspect “began to run and was pointing the gun toward the direction of bystanders.”
It was then that 32-year-old Emanuel Duran, a licensed concealed carry holder, stepped up.
El Paso mall shooting suspect stopped by citizen with gun, police say | Just The News https://t.co/IanRLQyC9s
— John Solomon (@jsolomonReports) February 20, 2023
Police report that as the suspect ran towards Duran and other innocent bystanders, “Duran drew his handgun and shot the suspect.”
An off-duty police officer was working security at a nearby store and was able to render first aid to the suspect and others who were shot. The suspect is listed in stable condition at a local hospital.
His name has not been released due to his age.
El Paso police Sergeant Robert Gomez told reporters “it’s always concerning especially when a 16-year-old has a stolen handgun and fires a weapon inside a very crowded mall. It’s very concerning, it’s very disturbing actually.”
In the course of their investigation, officials learned that “at least” two others in the mall were legally armed, though they were not involved with the shooting.
It is in the aftermath of incidents like these when so-called political “leaders” and the left-wing media always trot out arguments against the inanimate objects. They obviously prefer that law-abiding Americans remain unarmed in the face of the violent onslaught of criminal attacks.
But once again, a legally armed citizen was prepared to step up and defend innocent lives. That is a narrative that will be overlooked by mainstream news outlets, but it’s one that deserves to be told and retold as an example of how the Second Amendment works to save lives.
