'We have people down in the food court:' 911 calls give glimpse into Greenwood mall shooting

"Shots were just fired," a woman, who said she was inside Greenwood Park Mall, told a dispatcher.

She then clarified: "Shots fired several times, sir. Several times."

Her report was one of many calls to 911 that started to come in at 6:05 p.m. on Sunday surrounding the active shooter at Greenwood Park Mall.

“They shooting the mall up in Greenwood. They got AKs and s--t,” a man told dispatchers. (Police later revealed the shooter was armed with a Sig Sauer model M400 5.56 caliber rifle, a M&P 15 5.56 caliber rifle and a Glock 33 .357 caliber pistol.)

“It sounded like 15-20 shots,” a woman described from inside an Old Navy.

“Please send someone,” another woman pleaded.

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Police on Wednesday released recordings of the 911 calls dispatchers received as gunshots rang out in the food court of Greenwood Park Mall on Sunday. The swelling of calls became so great, it overwhelmed the Johnson County dispatch system and the calls were diverted to Bartholomew County — the way the system was designed during such a situation. Bartholomew County received about 50 calls surrounding the shooting, Greenwood Police Chief Jim Ison said on Monday.

The calls help illustrate pandemonium and fear among shoppers as the shooting began. Police said the 20-year-old suspect entered the mall carrying two rifles, a pistol and over 100 rounds of ammunition on his person and in a backpack. He waited inside a bathroom in a food court for an hour and two minutes, then exited the restroom and began firing.

Among the callers was a mall employee who phoned 911 from a cookie store in the food court.

"I'm sorry, I'm just very shaken up," she said.

It appeared evident to the majority of callers the shots came from the food court. One woman told a dispatcher she could see the shooter on the ground from her hiding spot behind a machine in the dining area.

“There’s an active shooter in the Greenwood mall,” she said.

“An active shooter?” A dispatcher asked.

The caller said yes.

“There’s three people dead,” she added. “From what I can tell, from what I see, it’s a male. He’s dead on the ground.”

The dispatcher asked her to clarify if the male was the shooter. Yes, the woman replied.

“So somebody shot him?” The dispatcher asked. The woman said yes again.

“Who shot him?” The dispatcher asked. The woman didn’t say, but noted the shooter wore a white T-shirt.

Another woman in a separate call could only describe the white T-shirt the shooter wore.

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Many said they didn’t see the suspected gunman, either because they ran as soon as the gunshots began, or they were calling 911 from a different area in the mall after seeing the scores of people running and screaming to evacuate.

“There’s people running everywhere,” a woman told dispatchers while hiding in Zales Jewelers near the food court.

As the reports continued, more calls came in about the victims.

“I need to request additional fire personnel. We have people down in the food court here,” a man, who said he was with Luca Pizza di Roma, said.

Another caller said she saw a woman lying in the middle of the food court.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with her,” she said.

It’s unclear if the woman was referring to one of the five victims in the shooting. A husband and wife, identified as Pedro Piñeda, 56, and Rosa Mirian Rivera de Piñeda, 37, died in the attack as well as 30-year-old Victor Gomez. A 22-year-old woman was shot in the leg and a 12-year-old girl suffered a minor injury to her back when a bullet fragment is believed to have ricocheted.

Surveillance footage from the mall showed the shooting began at 5:56:48 p.m. when the shooter emerged from the restroom and began firing. The attack ended at 5:57:03 p.m. — 15 seconds after it began — when Elisjsha Dicken, 22, fatally shot the suspect, according to a timeline provided by Greenwood Police Chief James Ison.

Police on Monday said a motive has not been determined.

Contact Sarah Nelson at sarah.nelson@indystar.com or 317-503-7514.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: 911 calls provide glimpse into Greenwood mall shooting