One young man is dead after an altercation at the Mall of America in Minnesota turned deadly Friday night.
According to investigators, a fight broke out on the lower-level of the mall’s Nordstrom store between a group of five to nine people, Fox 9 reported. The situation turned deadly when one of the perpetrators pulled out a gun and shot the 19-year-old victim multiple times, the outlet reported.
BREAKING: Mall of America has been locked down after a reported shooting. This video from Nordstrom, posted by Jovonta Patton to his verified social media feeds, shows the moment the shots rang out. @KARE11 pic.twitter.com/aBQkwRwOZt
— Danny Spewak (@DannySpewak) December 24, 2022
“The family here, I really feel bad for them and their loss – I mean, this is before Christmas and now they’re having to bury one of their loved ones,” Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges stated in a press conference.
Hodges went on to say that the mall was looking over their own security measures to see how they might improve safety for shoppers, but conceded that if someone had that much disrespect for human life, there wasn’t much they could do to stop it. “This is absolutely ridiculous,” Hodges stated, clearly angered by the situation. (RELATED: Mall Of America Goes Into Lockdown After Shooting Breaks Out)
“Whoever did this, we will catch them. And whoever helps them, we will lock you up, too,” Hodges warned.
Following the shooting, the mall went into lockdown. Once lockdown was lifted and all shoppers were evacuated, the mall remained closed for the evening, with plans to re-open Saturday morning with the exception of Nordstrom which would remain closed, Fox 9 reported.
Hodges told reporters that police are currently in the process of identifying those involved. “We are going catch you, we are going lock you up, and you are going to get an orange jumpsuit. It’s just a matter of when it’s going to happen,” he stated during the press conference.