Greenwood gunman used AR-15 style rifle that's behind deadliest mass shootings
Corrections & Clarifications: A previous version of the article contained an incorrect age and misstated who the police said was carrying the gun legally. The armed bystander was carrying legally under Indiana law. It is unknown whether the gunman was carrying his guns legally.
The gunman who killed three people at Greenwood Park Mall on Sunday night used an AR-15 style rifle, a weapon that has been used in some of the deadliest mass shootings in the country.
The shooter, identified Monday by police as a 20-year-old Greenwood man, used a Sig Sauer model M400 5.56 caliber rifle to kill three victims, according to police. The gun is a semiautomatic weapon, meaning it automatically loads subsequent rounds for firing. He fired 24 rounds before an armed bystander fatally shot him, police said.
The AR-15 style gun, which has been described as a "weapon of choice" for mass shooters, was used by the killers in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, the 2017 Sutherland Springs church shooting, the 2018 Stoneman Douglas High School shooting and, most recently, at the 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
AR-15 style firearms were banned by the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban, but the ban expired in 2004.
Indiana has long allowed most individuals, with a few exceptions, to carry assault weapons like rifles without a permit. Machine guns are still prohibited under Indiana law, and sawed-off shotguns are prohibited under federal law.
Police said the gunman bought the rifle March 8 in Greenwood.
He had two other guns in his possession at the Greenwood mall that he did not use. One was a M&P 15 5.56 caliber rifle, which police said was recovered in the mall bathroom. The other gun was a Glock 33 .357 caliber pistol, which police said was on his person. Police said the shooter purchased the M&P rifle on March 9, 2021, from a gun store in Greenwood. He also had multiple magazines and more than 100 rounds of ammunition on his person and in his possession, according to police.
Police said they have not identified a motive for the attack.
The armed bystander who killed the shooter fired 10 rounds from a 9mm pistol. His name is Elisjsha Dicken, 22, of Seymour.
Contact IndyStar reporter Ko Lyn Cheang at kcheang@indystar.com or 317-903-7071. Follow her on Twitter: @kolyn_cheang.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Greenwood mass shooting: AR-15 style rifle used; same gun as Uvalde
