Jonathan Douglas Sapirman

Jonathan Douglas Sapirman was born on 30 November 2001 and was a lifelong resident of Greenwood, Indiana. At the time of the shooting, he was 20 years old. Sapirman had no known adult criminal record. During his youth, he was involved in a physical altercation while attending Greenwood High School and had previously been reported as a juvenile runaway.

Sapirman was employed at a warehouse job, which he left in May 2022. In the weeks leading up to the attack, he was living alone in an apartment and was facing eviction by July 2022. Family members later stated that they were unable to explain his actions.

Investigators reported that Sapirman was active on social media platforms, particularly Reddit, where he maintained two accounts and posted extensively between 2017 and 2022. His online activity primarily involved discussions and debates about mass shootings and serial killers in the United States. While he acknowledged researching previous attackers and examining their motives and tactics, authorities stated that none of his known posts directly indicated plans to carry out an attack. Sapirman was also reported to have an interest in Nazi Germany.

Immediately prior to the shooting, Sapirman destroyed personal electronic devices, including burning his laptop in his apartment oven and discarding his cell phone in a toilet at the shopping center.

The mass shooting occurred on 17 July 2022 at the Greenwood Park Mall in Greenwood, Indiana. The attack began at approximately 5:56 p.m. EDT and lasted less than one minute.

Earlier that afternoon, Sapirman walked approximately one mile from his apartment to the mall while carrying multiple firearms and more than 100 rounds of ammunition. His weapons included a SIG Sauer M400 rifle, a Smith & Wesson M&P15 AR‑15‑style rifle, and a Glock 33 pistol. Upon entering the mall, he went into a restroom near the food court, where he remained for more than an hour.

At 5:56:48 p.m., Sapirman exited the restroom and opened fire in the food court area. His first victim was Victor Gomez, aged 30, who was shot and killed near the restroom entrance. Sapirman then fired at a nearby table, killing Pedro Pineda, aged 56, and his wife, Rosa, aged 37. He continued shooting into the crowd, wounding a 22‑year‑old woman and a 12‑year‑old girl. Investigators later confirmed that Sapirman fired a total of 24 rifle rounds during the attack.

Approximately fifteen seconds after the shooting began, Elisjsha Dicken, a 22‑year‑old legally armed civilian who was shopping at the mall, engaged Sapirman. From a distance of roughly forty yards, Dicken fired ten rounds from a Glock 19 handgun, striking Sapirman eight times. Sapirman fired one shot in response and attempted to retreat toward a restroom before collapsing. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

After the shooting stopped, Dicken immediately informed mall security personnel that he had neutralized the attacker and remained on site until law enforcement arrived. Police and emergency medical services secured the mall shortly afterward, and the injured victims were transported to area hospitals for treatment.

A suspicious backpack discovered in a nearby restroom prompted a response from a bomb squad, but it was later determined to pose no threat. Law enforcement agencies at the local, state, and federal levels assisted in the investigation. Authorities stated that no ongoing threat existed and that the shooter’s motive remained unclear.

The Greenwood Park Mall reopened on 19 July 2022, less than two days after the shooting.