A gunman opened fire in a US shopping mall packed with Christmas Eve shoppers.
Witnesses said around seven shots were fired at the Northlake Mall in Charlotte, North Carolina, at around 2pm local time (7pm UK time) this afternoon.
An off-duty police officer shot the gunman shortly after the chaos unfolded he was pronounced dead at the scene by medics.
It is believed at least one other person was injured in the shooting.
#NorthlakeMall: Armed person shot and pronounced dead by medic on scene. https://t.co/FWLnYUQSm1 #cltnews pic.twitter.com/17xe6TVVLX
— WBTV News (@WBTV_News) December 24, 2015
A police statement said an argument broke out between two groups of people before shots were fired and that the incident was no longer an "active shooter situation".
The gunman was then seen lying motionless on the floor of a nearby shoe store.
Panicked shoppers were seen rushing out of the mall in fear after shots were fire near an Apple Store inside the complex.