Man, it's hard to believe it was ten YEARS ago, but it was. February 12, 2007. Trolley Square Mall in Salt Lake City, Utah. Many of you will probably remember hearing about it. A lone gunman, armed with .38 caliber revolver, a shotgun, and a backpack full of ammunition, started shooting people in the parking garage, then entered the mall and began shooting people. He killed six and wounded four before he was engaged by an off-duty police officer from another jurisdiction, who happened to be shopping there with his wife.
The officer exchanged shots with the shooter, pinning him down until an on-duty patrolman and then the SWAT time arrived to finish off the shooter. The off-duty officer, Kenneth Hammond, was carrying a Kimber 1911 that held either 7 or eight rounds -- I can't find the article, but I think in one interview he said it was one of the compact Kimber's with a 7-round magazine. From one of the articles I could find on the incident:
He now had a clear line of vision to the gunman and fired at him. Due to pending investigation, Ken cannot disclose how many rounds he fired, but he did share that his limited cache of ammo was a point of concern.
Obviously, we don't head to the mall for Valentine's Day dinner with the wife, expecting to be in a gunfight against an adversary with a backpack full of ammo. But, as shown, it can happen.