A shooting at the Mall of America, a shopping center located in Bloomington, Minnesota, just before 8 p.m. Friday night left one person dead, police said.
One victim, who was described as a 19-year-old African American male, was directly hit and died at the scene while another’s clothing was grazed by a bullet during a shooting in the mall’s Nordstrom, Fox Minneapolis reported.
Security cameras showed the shooting escalated from an altercation between two groups of young males, the Bloomington Police Department said.
“Whoever did this, we will catch them. And whoever helps them, we will lock you up, too,” Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges said during a press conference at the mall two hours after the shooting. “This is just stupid, stupid, stupid.”
CHILLING CALIFORNIA BODYCAM VIDEO SHOWS SUSPECT SHOOTING OFFICER BEFORE BEING KILLED
“If someone is going to have complete disrespect for humanity, I don’t know if we can stop them,” Hodges added.
The police chief also asked the suspect or suspects responsible for the shooting to turn themselves in.
The individual whose clothing was grazed by a bullet, simply described as a female, was not injured, FOX 9’s Karen Scullin reported.
A heavy police presence responded to the initial reports of a shooting and the mall was subsequently put under lockdown. This protocol has since been lifted, officials said.
The Nordstrom store will remain closed on Saturday, but the mall will be opened to the public
“Mall of America is now lifting lockdown. Guests should now exit the property. Mall of America remains closed for the evening,” read a tweet from the mall’s official Twitter account.
Bloomington police and EMS personnel remained on the scene for several hours, and were mostly parked outside the Nordstrom, photos and videos at the scene showed.
Police continue to advise people to stay away from the area.
The shooting happened two days before Christmas amid a busy shopping season.
There were 16 police officers or security personnel in the mall at the time of the shooting, including an officer in a store adjacent to where the shooting happened, Scullin reported.
Friday’s shooting comes months after another shooting at the Mall of America took place in August 2022. Police also responded to another shooting at the same mall in December 2021.
Suspects in both previous shootings were young adults, between 18 and 23 years old.
