Search for Mall of America shooting suspect after 19-year-old man fatally shot

A search was underway in Minnesota on Saturday for a suspect who opened fire inside Mall of America as shoppers hurried to make their last-minute holiday purchases.

Gunfire erupted inside the mall, the nation’s largest shopping and entertainment center, on Friday around 7:50 p.m., Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges said. One of 16 guards on duty heard the shots and raced toward the violence coming from inside a Nordstrom store on the first floor, where they found a 19-year-old man suffering from gunshot wounds.

The officer attempted to perform life-saving measures, but the victim was ultimately pronounced dead on the scene, Hodges said. Another person was grazed in the gunfire and is expected to recover.

Police did not identify the man who was killed, but Hodges said he and Bloomington Mayor Tim Busse spoke to the victim’s relatives on Friday night.

“The family here — I really feel bad for them,” Hodges said. “Their last week before Christmas and now they’re having to bury one of their loved ones.”

Authorities believe the shooting was sparked by an altercation between a group of about five to nine people inside the Nordstrom. Store surveillance video shows a male pulling out a gun and shooting the victim, Hodges said.

No one has been arrested in connection with the incident, but Hodges vowed authorities would not rest until everyone involved was in custody.

“We are going to catch you, we are going to lock you up and you are going to get an orange jumpsuit,” he said. “It’s just a matter of when it’s going to happen.”

He also warned people against aiding the suspects in avoiding arrest.

“If anybody helps these people — I mean so much as buy them a Happy Meal, give them a ride,” the visibly upset chief said, “we’re going to lock you up with them.”

The 30-year-old mall, about 10 miles south of downtown Minneapolis, has more than 500 stores, more than 50 dining options, dozens of attractions and two hotels, according to the owners. The violence sent the shopping center into lockdown but it reopened to shoppers for Christmas eve on Saturday.

With News Wire Services