Police respond to 'active incident' at Mall of America
Cell phone footage captures shots being fired at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota
A suspect pulled out a handgun and fired three shots into a Nike store at the Mall of America on Thursday at about 4:15 p.m. after an altercation between two groups of people, Bloomington police said.
"They decided to demonstrate a complete lack of respect for human life," Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges said at a press conference on Thursday evening. "They decided to fire multiple rounds into a store with people."
No one was struck by the gunfire and the suspects fled the mall, which remained closed through Thursday evening following a lockdown.
One video of the altercation showed a man yelling outside a Nike store on the second level before firing what sounded like multiple gunshots.
A Bloomington police officer was on the scene within 30 seconds of the gunfire. Several officers could be seen patrolling the mall with rifles after the shooting as a PA system instructed shoppers to seek shelter.
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Andy Paras, the news director for Fox 55 Fort Wayne, posted videos showing the chaotic scene, saying that a woman had to block the entrance to make sure no one else entered the mall.
"Tonight’s violence at the Mall of America is unacceptable. These brazen incidents will not be tolerated," Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz tweeted. "We are committed to maintaining an unprecedented state law enforcement presence in the Twin Cities until we put a stop to this rise in crime."
Hodges emphasized that this was an isolated incident stemming from an altercation between two groups.
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A large police presence could be seen at a nearby motel following the shooting, but the suspects weren't found there.
"Please turn yourself in," Hodges said. "Should you choose not to, our officers, our partners, our detectives, will not stop until we lock you up."
Mall of America, the largest mall in the United States, will reopen on Friday morning.
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Samantha Busch, the wife of NASCAR driver Kyle Busch, posted several videos on her Instagram story of rollercoasters inside the mall earlier in the day.
"If you are seeing the news about [Mall of America] we got out and are safe. Praying others inside are too," Busch wrote on her Instagram story following the shooting.
