Family of Indiana mall gunman shocked by his deeds

GREENWOOD, Ind. (AP) — The family of the man who fatally shot three people at a suburban Indianapolis shopping mall said Friday that they had no inkling that he was capable of the violence.

In a statement released through their attorney, Jeffrey and Justin Sapirman, the father and brother, respectively, of gunman Jonathan Sapirman, extended their “deepest condolences who have suffered as a result of the tragedy at the Greenwood Park Mall on Sunday.”

“We had no reason to believe that Jonathan would ever engage in these extreme actions. We are unable to offer any explanation for his decisions and are as shocked as the rest of the community.

They said their last communications with Jonathan in the days before the attack were “cheerful” and that he was looking forward to future plans.

“We are cooperating completely with law enforcement in efforts to provide insight into not only Jonathan’s actions, but also in the chance anything we may add could aid in preventing similar events,” they said.

The Sapirmans also said they have “no feelings of hostility” toward Elisjsha Dicken, a 22-year-old man from Seymour who was shopping at the mall that evening and who ended the attack by fatally shooting Jonathan Sapirman.

“We choose to remember Jonathan as the thoughtful and intelligent young man we knew and loved. We, too, are grieving and kindly request that our privacy is respected in this difficult time,” the statement concluded.

Jonathan Sapirman shot and killed a married Indianapolis couple — Pedro Pineda, 56, and Rosa Mirian Rivera de Pineda, 37 — and Victor Gomez, 30, also of Indianapolis.

Two people were also wounded in the attack: a woman who was shot in the leg and a 12-year-old girl who was hit in the back by shrapnel.

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