Update: One Person Shot to Death at Mall of America Friday Night

Originally published December 23rd, 2022 8:42 p.m.

Updated December 23, 2022 11:17 p.m.

(KNSI) — One person is dead after a shooting at the Mall of America Friday night.

Shots rang out on the first floor inside the Nordstrom store at around 7:50. A Bloomington police officer was in the store next door and immediately responded and found a 19-year-old man who was shot “multiple times,” according to Police Chief Booker Hodges. Lifesaving measures were taken but were unsuccessful.

Hodges said in a press conference it appeared everything started with a verbal altercation between two groups, and “fists started flying” before one person pulled out a gun. He said it took roughly 30 seconds. He estimates five to nine people were involved and said they fled the scene.

He had some harsh words for the suspects saying the police would find them and “you will get an orange jumpsuit,” and pleaded with them to turn themselves in.

Hodges called the shooting “ridiculous” and “flat out stupid,” adding that anyone who aids or abets the suspects in any way, including “buying them a Happy Meal or giving them a ride,” you too will be held responsible.

Hodges said a bullet grazed an innocent bystander’s jacket.

Questions arose about how safe the mall is after two gun-related incidents this past summer, including one where shots were fired outside the Nike store. Metal detectors were reportedly posted outside one of the entrances, and Hodges said they might be reinstated, but he said that the State Fair had a metal detector, and someone still managed to get a gun inside.

This is believed to be the first fatal shooting at the Mall of America in its 30 year history.

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