A gospel star and Christmas shoppers ducked for cover when a gunman opened fire at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, killing a 19-year-old man.
The shooting caused the Mall of America to go into lockdown less than two days before Christmas and lift shortly after, around 9 p.m. Friday night.
Despite the improved security measures taken in October and 16 officers on the scene at the time of the shooting, Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges said no arrests had yet been made.
Hodges said officers heard gunfire on Nordstrom’s first floor and that there had been a physical altercation involving up to nine people prior to the shooting.
Gospel star Jovonta Patton and holiday shoppers ducked for cover when a gunman opened fire at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, killing a 19-year-old man.
Hodges said officers heard gunshots on the first floor of Nordstrom and it appears there had been a physical altercation involving up to 9 people prior to the shooting
Despite enhanced security measures installed in October and 16 officers on the scene at the time of the shooting, Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges said no arrests had yet been made.
The police chief labeled the shooting “just downright stupid” and stressed that the suspects, who ran across the parking lot from the mall, would be caught and justice served.
“This is just stupid, stupid, stupid,” Hodges said at a news conference.
“Whoever did this, we’ll catch them. And whoever helps them, we’ll lock you up too.’
A video uploaded to Instagram by Jovonta Patton, an artist, composer, producer and entrepreneur who was number one on the charts five times, showed the events from his perspective.
In the video, the artist can be seen shopping at a Gucci store with a caption stating that he was making a ‘reel’.
“So, bae, did you find the wallet you’re looking for,” you hear him say to a woman smiling next to him.
In the video, the artist can be seen shopping with a woman at a Gucci store. He is heard asking ‘bae’ if she had found a wallet she liked just before the shots were fired
You can also see the person filming hit the ground amidst the chaos, with the footage showing the person shooting the video rushing to get away from the shop window
Shortly after being asked the question, loud gunshots are heard and the woman looks straight into the camera, startled, before she and Patton quickly dive to the ground and take shelter in the shop.
The person filming can also be seen hitting the ground amidst the chaos, with the footage showing the person shooting the video scrambling to get off the shop window.
As the video continues, a person can be heard saying “I hope something just fell” as the filming person hides in what appears to be a pantry with other Christmas shoppers.
The mall prohibits guns on the premises, but does not have metal detectors at the entrances. It began testing a month-long use of a “weapon detection system” at the north entrance in October.
The mall says it will reopen at 10 a.m. Saturday, but the Nordstrom store will remain closed.
“I really feel that the family, the mother, the father, the other family members that the mayor and I spoke to before we came here are hurt, and rightfully so, for something that shouldn’t have happened,” Hodges said.
The police chief labeled the shooting “just downright stupid” and stressed that the suspects, who ran across the parking lot from the mall, would be caught and justice served.
The shooting caused the Mall of America to shut down less than two days before Christmas and close shortly afterward, around 9 p.m. Friday night
The Mall of America began testing enhanced security measures in October, when a weapon detection system and baggage checks were added to the north entrance
In August, five Twin Cities residents were charged after a fight at the Nike store led to gunfire at the mall.
The suspected shooter escaped at the scene and was arrested the following week in Chicago. No one was injured in the shooting.
Later that month, a 28-year-old Woodbury man was arrested for allegedly committing armed robbery at the mall with an AR-15 style rifle.
The Mall of America began testing enhanced security measures in October, when a weapon detection system and baggage checks were added to the north entrance.
Almost a year ago on New Year’s Eve, two men were injured when a single shot was fired at the mall. The 18-year-old gunman later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 45 months in prison.
Earlier this month, the Mall of America settled a lawsuit with the family of a five-year-old boy who was thrown from a third-floor balcony by a man who claimed he was “looking for someone to kill.”
Landen Hoffman, now eight, was five years old when the man with a history of causing a disturbance at the mall threw him off a balcony — 40 feet to the ground — at the mall in Bloomington, Minnesota, in April 2019.
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