Civilian Hero, Praised for Accurate Defensive Shooting, to Benefit From Support Fund

Eli Dicken reacted quickly when a gunman opened fire killing three people at the Greenwood Park mall in Indiana and "neutralised" the killer. (Courtesy of Guy Relford Law)

The marksmanship of the armed civilian hero who “neutralized” the gunman at an Indiana mall shooting is being called “extraordinary,” as donations are being collected to support him and to assist families of the three slain bystanders.

On GoFundMe.com, Indiana State Rep. Jim Lucas (R-Seymour) launched “Eli’s Show Of Support Fund” by contributing $500 for Elisjsha Dicken, 22, also of Seymour.

Dicken was shopping at the Greenwood Park Mall with his girlfriend around 6 p.m. on July 17 when a gunman opened fire in the food court area, prompting Dicken to draw his handgun and fire at the gunman, who died at the scene.

When The Epoch Times asked about the fund for Dicken, Lucas wrote in an email, “Eli is a constituent of mine that performed an incredibly heroic deed and saved countless lives.

“The money raised is Eli’s to spend as he sees fit, as he may encounter future financial hardships due to extended legal needs, counseling or grief services or missed time away from work.”

As of midday July 20, contributions to the fund totaled more than $15,000; the goal is $250,000.

The gunman, who police identified as Johnathan Douglas Sapirman, 20, of Greenwood, died after Dicken shot him.

In an email to The Epoch Times, Greenwood Police Chief James Ison confirmed that Dicken shot Sapirman just 15 seconds after Sapirman emerged from a restroom and began firing his rifle at mallgoers.

The chief said he had erred when he previously stated that two minutes had elapsed.

In a July 18 news conference, Ison called Dicken’s actions “very proficient, very tactically sound.”

According to Johnson County Coroner Michael Pruitt, eight of Dicken’s 10 rounds struck the gunman.

Lt. Col. Dave Grossman an Army Ranger and paratrooper who holds a black belt in Hojutsu, the martial art of the firearm, told The Epoch Times that Dicken’s accuracy was “extraordinary,” and was “well above the achievement that the average law enforcement officer is required to have.”

Grossman said some officers could qualify by hitting 75 percent of targets at varying distances.

Based on some media reports, Dicken may have shot at Sapirman from 40 yards away. To hit eight out of 10 rounds at that distance is “just astounding,” Grossman said.

“I think the message is, for any of us who carry a gun: Just carrying a guitar doesn’t make you a musician. And carrying a gun doesn’t mean you can perform the way this guy did. That takes training and dedication,” Grossman said.

“Thank God this guy was there.”

Greenwood police said that, as far as they know, Dicken had no previous police or military training, and he identified himself to mall security in the aftermath of the shooting.

Dicken was initially handcuffed, Ison said, and his gun was taken from him as the investigation began. He was released after detectives verified that his account of the incident matched the sequence that mall surveillance cameras captured.

After Dicken drew his firearm, Sapirman attempted to retreat into the men’s restroom “but fell to the ground after he was shot,” Ison told reporters earlier this week.

Police said they hadn’t identified a motive for the shooting.

They were seeking clues from Sapirman’s cellphone, which investigators fished out of a toilet in the mall restroom, and from his laptop, which was left baking under high heat in the oven of Sapirman’s apartment, along with a can of butane.

Police said they didn’t want to speculate about Sapirman’s intent, and they weren’t sure whether data could be extracted from the damaged devices. The FBI was attempting to analyze them.

Through his attorney, Guy Relford, Dicken has requested privacy while dealing with the trauma of the fatal shooting.

On July 20, Relford wrote on Facebook that he was correcting previous media reports that incorrectly stated that his client lacked a state license to carry a handgun.

Even though his client’s handgun-license status is “legally irrelevant” because the state’s “permitless carry” law took effect July 1, Relford posted a photograph of Dicken’s License to Carry Handgun card, which Indiana State Police issued in August 2021.

Meanwhile, two other GoFundMe accounts were accepting donations to support the shooting victims’ families.

A father of three, Victor Gomez, 30, was shot as he left the restroom that the gunman had occupied, police said.

He was described as “humble and kind-hearted” by his cousin, Rosalva Gomez, on the GoFundMe page that she started “to help with his kids and his wife through (these) tough times.”

A joint fund has been set up to pay for funeral expenses of Pedro Pineda, 56, and his wife, Rosa Rivera de Pineda, 37, by a family friend. They were fatally shot as they ate dinner together, police said.

All three bystanders were from Indianapolis. Two other people, a 22-year-old woman and a 12-year-old girl, were wounded.