Two people were fatally shot after a gunman walked into a northern Indiana grocery store on Wednesday night, authorities said.
The shooter was later killed by the Elkhart police, who had received a call about an active shooter at Martin's Super Market about 10 p.m. on Wednesday, Indiana State Police Sgt. Trent Smith said at a news conference, the Associated Press reported.
A semi-automatic handgun was used by the gunman to kill one woman and then shoot another one after walking into a different aisle. While the first victim was an employee who appeared to be in her late teens or early 20s, the second woman was a shopper in her 40s who was shot 12 aisles away from the first victim.
Two police officers, who were on a routine call nearby, were able to quickly respond to the scene, Smith said. According to the AP, Smith said that the officers found the shooter as he was aiming his gun at a third person in one of the aisles at the store. He was quickly shot down by the officers. The gunman has been described to be from the same area and was in his early 20s. A large knife was also found near the man's body.
"That's today's society, unfortunately," Smith said, according to WNDU.com. "We live in that world. There is not a day that goes by it seems anymore that we aren't learning about a school shooting or at a business. We hope this would never come to our hometown, and here it is."
The identities of the women and gunman were not released but Smith said there was no indication that the shooter knew the victims, the AP reported.
"At this time, it appears that it's just random," he said.
The quick response by the officers was "no doubt" instrumental in saving lives, Smith said.
The Indiana State Police will investigate the case as the Elkhart Police Department was involved in the shooting, Smith said.
"We do have a lot of things to look at as far as video surveillance," Smith said, noting that state and city police also are interviewing witnesses.
Martin's Super Market posted a statement on its Facebook page, saying "Thank you to our community for your thoughts and prayers tonight. We will comment further when we can do so responsibly and appropriately."
Jessica Smith, the general manager at Fat Tomato, a restaurant next to Martin's, told WNDU.com that the shooting prompted a lockdown at her business.
"It was very scary," she told the station. "We had just finished up our night a little bit before 10 and we were put on lockdown by the police department. I was essentially holding 20 plus people hostage in my building. This is my neighborhood. This is where I live. I know so many people who work in there. This is devastating."
Elkhart is in far northern Indiana, just south of the Indiana-Michigan border, and about 15 miles east of South Bend, the AP reported.
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