Police in Minnesota confirm that gunshots were fired at the Mall of America in suburban Minneapolis, but say no victim has been found. Bloomington police say the scene has been secured. They are still searching for a suspect.
The mall, which opened in 1992, is the largest in the U.S. and is a tourist destination and community gathering spot.
Video posted online showed shoppers fleeing from the amusement park on the giant mall’s ground level, holding their children’s hands and clutching their bags. Still other video showed a pair of police officers, including one with a rifle, moving through the mall, and people walking quickly away from the mall’s large interior atrium area.
One woman tweeted that she was shopping for clothes for high school senior pictures with her 17-year-old daughter when the store manager told them to “move as far back as possible.” The woman said she was in a fitting room with her daughter. Another person posted video of dozens of people said to be gathered in the basement as warnings to “please shelter immediately” repeated over mall speakers.
The Mall of America bans guns on its premises, according to its website. The mall does not have metal detectors and shoppers are not searched upon entry.Associated Press writers Todd Richmond and Scott Bauer in Madison, Wis., and Dave Kolpack in Fargo, N.D. contributed. Trisha Ahmed is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative.
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