Teen shot dead inside Nordstrom store at the Mall of America
Bloomington MN December 24, 2022
Shots were fired and one person is dead inside the Mall of America, police confirmed Friday.
Mall security officers were immediately dispatched along with police and EMS to the first floor of the Nordstrom store.
The victim, whose identity has not been released, but was said to be 19, was shot during a fight that happened inside the store, Police Chief Booker Hodges told reporters.
Mall security video recorded the altercation, which took place between two groups of between five and nine people. During the fight, a male pulled out a gun and fired multiple shots at the victim, Hodges said.
Officials locked down the west wing of the mall after the shooting.
It was unclear what led to the fight. He said a group of five to seven people fled out a door after the shooting, and no arrests had been made as of late Friday.
Hodges expressed frustration with the situation and called on anyone involved to turn themselves in.
“This is a tragedy and I’m really trying to contain how I really feel about this, but we’re going to catch these people, believe that,” he said.
He said his thoughts were with the victim’s families who are “having to bury one of their loved ones.”
“They’re in pain, and rightfully so, and for something that should not have happened,” Hodges said.
The shooting happened shortly before 8 p.m., and the entire mall was soon placed on lockdown. The mall tweeted at 10:10 p.m. that the lockdown was being lifted.
It occurred on the busy shopping day before Christmas Eve.
Hodges said that dozens of security officers and 16 police officers were on duty inside the mall during the shooting Friday, including one near Nordstrom who heard the shots.
A bystander’s coat was grazed by a bullet, but no other injuries were reported, Hodges said.
The mall, which opened in 1992, experimented with metal detectors at some of its entrances earlier this year, it has been reported. The mall has also stated that it was testing options “that may allow us to further enhance” security systems.
Earlier this year, a man fired three shots in front of a store in the mall, the station reported.
Shopping malls across the country have seen a significant increase in violence including shootings often associated with gangs and juvenile violence.
