1 in Custody, Woodfield Mall Evacuated After Vehicle Drives Inside
Chicago IL Sept 23 2019 A 22-year-old man is in custody, Schaumburg police said, after a vehicle was driven into an entrance of Woodfield Mall Friday afternoon.
A massive police presence converged on the mall at around 2:30 p.m. after an SUV drove inside of the popular suburban Chicago shopping center.
A video posted to social media showed that the SUV caused damage as it moved through the mall. Photos later showed police escorting a man in handcuffs out of the building.
Three people were taken to the hospital for non-life threatening injuries, police said.
“The authorities believe this to be an isolated incident involving one person who has been arrested,” Woodfield Mall management said in a statement. “We are grateful no one was injured, and thank our security team and the police for their quick response.”
Witnesses reported the mall was on lockdown and customers were hiding in the back of stores.
“I was walking out of Express and I saw maybe like 30 people running,” witness Bijal Patel said. “I saw families carrying their children. I asked, ‘What’s going on?’ Someone said, ‘Run there’s a shooter! Get out of the mall!’”
Another witness, Brian Clark, said a security guard told him to “get out of the mall” and everything at the other end was being locked down.
“There are armed police going around on the lower level… so they’re checking the mall to make sure everything was secure,” he told NBC 5.
