By Jake Bleiberg and Rebecca Boone, AP

A gunman stepped out of a silver sedan and started shooting people at a Dallas-area outlet mall Saturday, killing eight and wounding seven others — three critically — before being killed by a police officer who happened to be nearby, authorities said.

Authorities did not immediately provide details about the victims at Allen Premium Outlets, a sprawling outdoor shopping center, but witnesses reported seeing children among them. Some said they also saw what appeared to be a police officer and a mall security guard unconscious on the ground.

A 16-year-old pretzel stand employee, Maxwell Gum, described a virtual stampede of shoppers. He and others sheltered in a storage room.

“We started running. Kids were getting trampled,” Gum said. “My co-worker picked up a 4-year-old girl and gave her to her parents.”

Dashcam video that circulated online showed the gunman getting out of a car and shooting at people on the sidewalk. More than three dozen shots could be heard as the vehicle recording the video drove off.

Warning: Disturbing video. Mass shooting in Allen, Texas. Shooter gets out of silver car, opens fire on several shoppers outside mall. pic.twitter.com/j9UmR9ucIR

— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) May 6, 2023

Allen Fire Chief Jonathan Boyd said eight people including the shooter died at the scene. Nine victims were taken to area hospitals, but two of them died.

Three of the wounded were in critical condition in the evening, Boyd said, and four were stable.

An Allen Police officer was in the area on an unrelated call when he heard shots at 3:36 p.m., the police department wrote on Facebook.

“The officer engaged the suspect and neutralized the threat. He then called for emergency personnel,” it added.

The White House said President Biden had been briefed on the shooting and the administration had offered support to local officials. Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has signed laws easing firearms restrictions following past mass shootings, called it an “unspeakable tragedy.”

#BREAKING – photos taken from a helicopter show fatalities outside the H&M store at the Premium Outlet Mall in Allen, Texas after a mass shooting took place #allentx #allentexas #massshooting #BreakingNews pic.twitter.com/WtWm4hts6h

— That Guy Shane (@ProfanityNewz) May 6, 2023

Video shared on social media showed people running through a parking lot amid the sound of gunshots.

More than 30 police cruisers with lights flashing were blocking an entrance to the mall, with multiple ambulances on the scene.

A live aerial broadcast from a news station showed armored trucks and other law enforcement vehicles outside the mall.

Ambulances from several neighboring cities responded.

The Dallas office of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also responded.

Allen, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of downtown Dallas, has roughly 105,000 residents.