NEWS ALERT: Suspect shot and killed after driving truck into Texas mall, multiple people injured

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From NBC News: A man who struck multiple people after driving into a Texas mall on Saturday was shot and killed by police, authorities said.

The man plowed into the front of a JC Penney store at the Killeen Mall in Killen, shattering the glass doors and continuing to drive his black pickup about 100 yards while “striking multiple people” and “actively running people over,” Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Bryan Washko said during a news conference Saturday night.

Police then opened fire and fatally shot the suspect. Washko said there is no longer a threat to the community and that the Texas Rangers are investigating the police shooting.

Four people were transported to local hospitals with injuries ranging from severe to minor, Washko said. He added that another person hurt in the incident walked into a hospital with minor injuries.

Those injured ranged in age from 6 years old to 75 years old. As of Saturday night, no deaths had been reported, other than the suspect.

The incident started when police were pursuing a man who had been reported as possibly driving while intoxicated. The driver then exited the interstate, sped through the Killeen Mall parking lot, and drove right through the entrance doors into the JC Penny store.

A spokesperson for the Killeen Police Department explained during a press conference that two off-duty officers just happened to be shopping in the mall with their families at the time the vehicle came crashing through the store, and joined other police as they engaged in gunfire with the suspect and killed him.

At the time of the press conference, police still did not have information to provide on the identity of the suspect or where he was from.

Killeen, Texas is a city a little over 60 miles north of Austin.

Shoppers were seen fleeing the mall, running for their lives, immediately after the incident. Gunshots can be heard, and a man filming the the scene says, “Oh my gosh, they shot him!”

The Killeen Police Department posted the following statement on Facebook:

8:01pm – Sgt. Washko with the Department of Pubic Safety advised that a call came in about an erratic driver in a black pickup truck in Temple. A DPS Trooper located the pickup truck traveling westbound on I-14 and a pursuit ensued. The suspect then drove through the JCPenney south entrance at the Killeen Mall, injuring 5 people. They were all transported to local hospitals. The threat was stopped inside the mall by several officers. The male suspect is deceased.

Please be advised, that this was not an active shooter. The Texas Rangers will be conducting an investigation and DPS will be the lead agency on this incident.

WATCH the police press conference below for more details:

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