Houston, May 7 (IANS): Nine people were killed, including the shooter, and seven others wounded in a shooting at an outlet mall in south-central US state Texas, authorities said.

The incident took place on Saturday afternoon. The shooter, who authorities believe was acting alone, was dead at the scene, according to the Collin County Sheriff's Office.

Allen Fire Chief Jonathan Boyd said on Saturday night that among the at least nine people sent to hospitals, "two have since died, three are in critical surgery, and four are stable."

Local media said the wounded include a five-year-old child, Xinhua news agency reported.

The shooting occurred at the Allen Premium Outlets in a suburb about 48 km north of Dallas. Local residents told Xinhua that it is one of the largest outlet malls in the area and is usually very busy during weekends.

Joseph Gallagher, a store manager at the mall, told Xinhua that he saw rounds of bullets "bounce off the pillar in front of our store" and witnessed the gunman being shot dead with blood hitting the walls.