Eight people have died after a shooting at a shopping mall in Texas.

The shooting, which saw seven more people injured, happened at Allen Premium Outlets near Dallas at around 3.40pm local time on Saturday.

The identities of the victims have not yet been confirmed by local authorities but eyewitnesses said they saw children among them, and some said they saw a police officer and mall security guard unconscious on the ground.

A police officer who happened to be nearby on another call heard gunshots and fatally shot the suspected gunman.

Dashcam video shared online showed a gunman step out of a car outside the shopping centre and immediate begin shooting people on the pavement outside.

Hundreds of shoppers and staff at the mall fled when they heard gunshots.

Maxwell Gum, a 16-year-old shift leader at Wetzel’s Pretzels, was on his lunch break when a family with limited English ran into the back of his store, telling him ‘Gun! Shoot!’ as the sound of gunfire could be heard in the background.

He took the family into the delivery corridor running behind the shops where he saw ‘probably like 300 people pouring in from all the different doors, people are freaking out, we’re hearing screaming’.

Allen Fire Chief Jonathan Boyd said seven people including the gunman died at the scene. Nine victims were taken to hospital, but two of them have since died.

Those receiving hospital treatment are aged between five and 61, a Medical City Healthcare spokesman said.

A statement shared on social media by Allen Police said: ‘An Allen Police officer was in the area on an unrelated call when he heard gunshots at Allen Premium Outlets.

‘The officer engaged the suspect and neutralised the threat. He then called for emergency personnel.

‘Nine victims were transported to local hospitals by Allen Fire Department. There is no longer an active threat.’

Fontayne Payton, 35, was at H&M when he heard the sound of gunshots through the headphones he was wearing.

He said: ‘It was so loud, it sounded like it was right outside.’

Shop staff locked customers in a back room, and once they were given the all clear to leave Mr Payton saw the shop windows were broken and a trail of blood led to the door.

Outside he saw bodies of the victims and said: ‘I pray it wasn’t kids, but it looked like kids. The bodies were covered in white towels, slumped over bags on the ground. It broke me when I walked out to see that.’

Stan and Mary Ann Greene were browsing in the Columbia sportswear store when the shooting started.

‘We had just gotten in, just a couple minutes earlier, and we just heard a lot of loud popping,’ Mrs Greene said.

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