A man driving a pickup truck trying to escape from police rammed the front doors of a shopping center in the Texas city of Killeen. Five people were injured, and the driver was neutralized by law enforcement, ABC News reported on December 22, citing the Texas Department of Public Safety.
According to Texas Department of Public Safety Sergeant Brian Washko, four people were injured and hospitalized, and the fifth sought medical attention on his own.
The driver was fatally wounded after several law enforcement officers opened fire on him, including three who were off-duty, Washko said during a press conference.
Law enforcement is establishing the identity of the attacker; the ages of the victims range from six to 75 years old, he said.
The incident occurred after state police officers attempted to stop a man driving a black pickup truck on suspicion of drunk driving. However, the driver ignored the demands of law enforcement officers and continued driving. Pursued by police cars, he eventually rammed the entrance to the shopping center and hit several people, the sergeant explained.
It will be determined whether this was a deliberate act or whether the man drove into the entrance to the shopping center “out of desperation because he was being pursued,” Vashko concluded.
Recall that on the evening of December 20, a car drove into a crowd of people at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany. Five people died: a child and four women. According to preliminary information, more than 200 people were injured.
According to eyewitnesses, the driver drove his car at high speed into a crowd of people who had gathered at the market stalls near the local town hall. The regional government of Saxony-Anhalt called the incident in the city an act of terrorism.