Minnesota: A teen was killed in a Friday shooting at the Mall of America and the nation's largest shopping complex was forced to go into lockdown just ahead of the holiday weekend, according to police.
According to Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges, the victim was a 19-year-old man. During the shooting at the Nordstrom store in the mall, a bullet also grazed a bystander's jacket.
According to the chief, there was some sort of altercation between the two groups when someone pulled out a gun and shot the victim several times. The whole incident took about 30 seconds.
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Hodges urged the shooter and other combatants to report themselves to police.
They announced, "We're going to catch you, lock you up, and give you an orange jumpsuit." "It just depends on when it happens."
He also urged people not to help the suspects to avoid being caught.
The clearly upset chief said, "If anybody helps these people, all I mean is buy them a happy meal, give them a ride." "We're going to imprison you with them."
Hodges said that although the mall is expected to reopen on Saturday, the Nordstrom store will not.
The mall has served as a tourist destination and a center for neighborhood gatherings since it opened in 1992. Although it prohibits guns on the property, shoppers are generally not required to go through metal detectors. The mall announced in October that one of its entrances was being used to test a "weapon detection system".
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Hodges said the mall is continually reassessing its security protocols, including the possible addition of metal detectors. The chief continued, "I still don't know what we can do to prevent an incident where someone decides they want to pull out a gun and shoot someone with no regard for human life." .
Although the victim's identity has not been released by police, Hodges and Bloomington Mayor Tim Bussey claimed to have spoken to the victim's family on Friday night. I feel really bad for the family here," Hodges said. He has to bury a loved one in the last week before Christmas.
According to the chief, the fight between the two groups – which consisted of between five and nine people – erupted into a fight before one man pulled out a gun and fired. Hodges said, "We don't know what happened or why.
Around 7:50 p.m., one of 16 Bloomington police officers stationed at the mall in the area heard gunshots. Despite lakhs of efforts of the officer, the victim died.
Earlier, the mall tweeted that customers were being sent out after an hour of lockdown. Social media videos showed customers huddled inside stores, and a mall announcement urged shoppers to find shelter. In some of the videos, shopkeepers could be seen running for safety after hearing the loud bang.
In the days before Christmas, shopping malls and centers across the United States experience an increase in foot traffic. This is when the alleged shooting takes place.
Jenny Hefty and her 16-year-old daughter, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, were standing in front of the Nordstrom store on the second floor of the mall when people started running and screaming in their direction. Bhari did not hear the gunshots, but his daughter did.
"At first we thought they were just playing. Why are all these kids running up to us?" she said on Friday night. The question was Armed security guards headed to Nordstrom, where Hefty was trying on perfume, about 20 minutes earlier. , as the shops began to close their doors and her husband ordered her to flee.
The couple's 18-year-old daughter, 21-year-old son, and their friends were desperately trying to reach their cellphones as the group arrived at their hotel in the mall complex. As malls were closed, they were forced to go to shops or were taken to safer areas.
The family, which often drives four hours to the mall, was in town Saturday to watch the Minnesota Vikings play the New York Giants in football.
Hefty confirmed, "Of course we wanted to come over early and do some Christmas shopping.
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The Giants were staying at a hotel near the shopping center. Pat Hanlon, the team's executive vice president of communications, said he believes some of the players were at the mall when the shooting occurred.
Hanlon reported Friday night that "everyone is back at the hotel and accounted for at the moment."
The mall was placed on lockdown in August after two people were injured during an apparent altercation last New Year's Eve and a shooting reportedly sent some shoppers running for cover in the Minneapolis suburban shopping center.
Requests for comment from representatives of Nordstrom and the City of Bloomington were not immediately returned.