In connection with the deadly shooting of a 19-year-old guy at the Mall of America on one of the last days of the US holiday shopping season, five persons have been detained.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune said that Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges made the announcement of the arrests in relation to the shooting on Friday night at a news conference and stated that all would be charged with murder.
According to Hodges, the suspects who were detained were two men, aged 18 and 17, as well as three male juveniles, aged 17 and older. They were apprehended in the morning at a residence in the nearby St Louis Park by SWAT team officers from three different jurisdictions.
The 18-year-old suspect is allegedly the shooter, while another suspect may also have discharged a weapon, the chief continued. Still wanted was a sixth suspect.
The newspaper cited Hodges as adding, “In Bloomington, if you come here and murder people at our mall, you get one of these for Christmas,” while holding up an orange prison uniform.
Tim Walz, governor of Minnesota, stated on Twitter that the mall shooting was “Unacceptable in the extreme. To give them the assistance and resources they require, we are in contact with the regional authorities.”
The 19-year-old who was killed has not yet been recognized by police, but the chief and Bloomington Mayor Tim Busse have spoken to the man’s relatives.
Customers fled for safety after hearing gunfire Friday at the Nordstrom store at the biggest mall in the country. According to reports, a bullet brushed a bystander’s clothing.
According to authorities, there appeared to be some sort of disagreement between two groups that turned into a fistfight before someone grabbed a revolver and shot the victim many times. The whole thing took place for roughly 30 seconds.
Around 7.50 p.m. local time, one of 16 Bloomington police officers stationed at the mall heard gunshots. Despite the officer’s best efforts, the victim passed away.
Before the mall tweeted that customers were being sent outside after an hour-long lockdown. Social media videos of shoppers sheltering in stores were shared, and a mall announcement urged visitors to find shelter.
The Mall of America has served as a tourist destination and a place for locals to congregate ever since it opened in 1992. Although it prohibits guns on the property, consumers are typically not compelled to go through metal detectors. The mall said in October that one of its entrances was being used to test a “weapons detecting system.”
The mall was put on lockdown in August after two people were injured on New Year’s Eve amid an apparent dispute and a reported shooting sent some shoppers scurrying for safety at the Minneapolis suburbia shopping center.
