Indiana mall gunman’s family say they are ‘unable to offer any explanation’ for his actions
By Samantha Beech and Isa Kaufman Geballe, CNN
The family of the gunman who killed three people during a weekend mall shooting in the Indianapolis suburb of Greenwood has released a statement expressing condolences to the families impacted.
The gunman, Jonathan Douglas Sapirman, 20, was shot dead by a legally armed bystander shortly after he opened fire with a rifle. Authorities have said he was armed with two rifles, a Glock pistol and more than 100 rounds of ammunition. He fired 24 shots before being killed.
Sapirman also wounded two others, authorities said.
On Friday, Sapirman’s father and brother offered their condolences in a statement released through an attorney.
They added: “We had no reason to believe that Jonathan would ever engage in these extreme actions. We are unable to offer any explanation for his decisions and are as shocked as the rest of the community.
“Our last communications with Jonathan in the days prior were cheerful and he was looking forward to future plans. We are cooperating completely with law enforcement in efforts to provide insight into not only Jonathan’s actions, but also in the chance anything we may add could aid in preventing similar events.”
Elisjsha Dicken, 22, of Seymour, Indiana, shot and killed Sapirman 15 seconds after he began his attack, police said.
“There are no feelings of hostility toward Mr. Dicken in doing what was right given the circumstances,” Sapirman’s family said.
Police have said many more people would have been killed if not for Dicken.
A law enforcement source familiar with the investigation into the shooing told CNN that police and the FBI are working to determine whether it was racially motivated.
The deceased victims were identified as Indianapolis couple Pedro Pineda, 56, and Rosa Mirian Rivera de Pineda, 37, and Victor Gomez, 30, also of Indianapolis.
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CNN’s Steve Almasy, Jessica N. Flynn and Sharif Paget contributed to this report.
