Impact of Indianapolis-area mall shooting felt in the hometown of man who killed attacker

SEYMOUR, Ind. (WDRB) -- A southern Indiana man is being hailed a hero for stopping an active shooter inside an Indianapolis-area mall.

It all happened at Greenwood Park Mall on Sunday night.

Police say 20-year-old Jonathan Sapirman went into the mall and spent about an hour in the bathroom, likely assembling a rifle.

Then, he opened fire, killing Pedro Pineda, Rosa Mirian Rivera de Pineda and Victor Gomez.

Two minutes after the first gunshots, investigators say 22-year-old Elisjsha Dicken, who was shopping with his girlfriend, took out his gun and fired 10 shots, killing Sapirman.

Police say Dicken is from Seymour, Indiana, and called his quick action "nothing short of heroic."

"Many more people would've died last night if not for a responsible armed citizen, that took action very quickly, within the first two minutes of the shooting," Greenwood Police Chief James Ison said.

Many people WDRB News spoke to on and off-camera in Seymour said they were thankful Dicken stepped in.

"I am very proud of him," Sherry McKinney said. "And my prayers go out to the families, that lost their family there. I feel for them. My heart goes to them"

McKinney says it was chilling to watch the news Sunday night, and watch the mall that she and her family frequent turn into a crime scene.

"I thank God we weren't there," McKinney said.

"A lot of anger and frustration. I have a 24-year-old and a 27-year-old, and my 24-year-old said it's getting to the point that I'm afraid to go out in public," Shellie Jordan, also of Seymour, said.

Authorities say Sapirman used an AR-15-style rifle during the shooting. Investigators found another rifle in the bathroom and a handgun on Sapirman. He had more than 100 rounds of ammunition.

"No one needs a gun that can kill that many people that quickly," Jordan said.

Jordan compared Sunday's scene on TV to a war zone, one that's creeping closer to her hometown's front door.

"We're Midwest. That sort of stuff's supposed to happen in big cities, and you know, on the coast. It's not supposed to happen in the middle of the country, but it does," she said.

We reached out to Elisjsha Dicken. When our crew visited an address listed in Columbus, a man who said he was Dicken's brother, told us Elisjsha doesn't want to do any interviews right now.

His attorney, Guy A. Relford, posted a statement on Facebook:

"Today the heroic good Samaritan of the Greenwood mall shooting, Elisjsha Dicken, retained the Law Office of Guy Relford. In response to multiple media inquiries, we are releasing the following statement:

"I am proud to serve as Eli Dickens' attorney and spokesperson. He is a true American hero who saved countless lives during a horrific event that could have been so much worse if not for Eli's courage, preparedness and willingness to protect others. Because we want to respect the on-going criminal investigation by the Greenwood Police Department and take time to honor the three innocent lives lost, we won't be making any substantive comments on Sunday's events until after the authorities' investigation is closed. In the interim, we ask that you respect the privacy of Eli and his family."

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