GREENWOOD, Ind. — On July 17, 2022, a man opened fire in the Greenwood Park Mall food court. The planned attack killed three people in a few moments.
Those killed by the shooter include 56-year-old Pedro Pineda, his wife 37-year-old Rosa Mirian Rivera de Pineda and 30-year-old Victor Gomez. Also wounded that day in the food court of the mall were a 22-year-old woman, who was hit in the leg, and a 12-year-old girl hit in the back by a bullet fragment.
(NOTE: The video above is a WTHR+ special report on the Greenwood Park Mall shooting.)
Police said many more would have died if it was not for the actions of one man just 15 seconds after the shooting began. It was during that short time that police said Eli Dicken drew his own gun and steadied it at the shooter.
Police said Dicken fired 10 rounds as the shooter tried to retreat into the food court bathroom but collapsed and died. An autopsy found the shooter was shot eight times and none were self-inflicted.
Dicken had no police training or military background, according to police. Dicken had a license to carry a handgun, which was issued Aug. 4, 2021, according to his attorney. However, Dicken did not need the license because "constitutional or permitless carry" became law in Indiana on July 1.
Police said Dicken learned to shoot from his grandfather and that he had no military or police training.
"His actions were nothing short of heroic. He engaged the gunman from quite a distance with a handgun. Was very proficient in that, was tactically sound and as he moved to close in on the suspect, he was also motioning for people to exit behind him," Greenwood Police Chief Jim Ison said at the time.
Dicken has not yet spoken with the media about the shooting. However, his lawyer, Guy A. Relford, said his client would wait to talk out of respect for the lives lost and the police investigation.
"He stood up, he leaned out from behind the column so he had cover, which meaning, you know, he was protected from gunfire and raised his forearms essentially on the top of that tall mall trashcan. He fired two shots, paused and, this is again a miraculous part of the story to me, and he had described this to me, but I saw it on video today," Relford said. "He had to pause because screaming people were running across his sight picture. He had to stop shooting allow people to clear from in front of his gun, fire two more shots and if those first four shots hit, hit the assailant. Two out of those four."
Relford said survivors have reached out, thanking Dicken for saving their lives.
"And Eli hears from those people and he appreciates the kind words and the accolades at the same time," said Relford. "There's a little inconsistency there because it wasn't a positive event. For him, it was a life-changing event. And saving lives notwithstanding, that's a lot to process for anyone who values human life as Eli does."
The Johnson County Prosecutor's Office has told 13News that Dicken will not face any criminal charges for the actions he took the day of the mass shooting.