Shooting at Washington state mall leaves one person dead and at least two others injured

One person died and at least two others were injured when a gunman opened fire at a shopping center in Washington state, police said.

The shooting happened Thursday evening at Vancouver Mall and police are asking people to avoid the area while they conduct an investigation.

Vancouver police initially wrote to X that they were responding to a “disturbance,” but later confirmed that it was in fact a shooting.

“There is no active threat at the mall at this time and police are making contact with people who were hiding in the mall,” police wrote around 8:30 PM PST. “Anyone who has been sheltering in the mall can exit through any open exit.”

The two known surviving victims were transported to a local hospital, according to police, but their conditions have not been released.

The Vancouver Fire Department said KKG8 that they sent four to five units to the mall after receiving word of the shooting. One person already died by the time they made it.

As of 9:00 PM PST, Vancouver Police said they were still clearing the mall and making contact with anyone still inside.

A reunion area was set up outside Hobby Lobby for people who became separated amid the chaos.

Vancouver, not to be confused with the city in Canada, is a city in Clark County with a population of almost 200,000. It is located directly across the Columbia River from Portland, Oregon.

The Vancouver Mall, where the shooting took place, is an indoor shopping complex with stores such as Gold’s Gym, H&M, JCPenney, Macy’s, AMC, Hobby Lobby, Round One and Old Navy.

It is still unclear where in the shopping center the shooting took place.

The Colombianan outlet based in Clark County, reported that the mall was hosting trick-or-treating for all ages from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM PST.

The newspaper also spoke to two people at the mall, neither of whom witnessed the shooting but were forced to evacuate.

In the photo: the entrance to one of the shopping center’s parking lots

18-year-old Vancouver native Ryan Tomlin was in the parking lot at Macy’s just after 8 p.m.

Tomlin said he and his friends heard someone yelling, “Gunner, gunman! Active shooter!’

They saw three police cars on the west side of the mall.

Gregory Iiams of Vancouver was at Round1, a bowling alley and arcade, with his wife and two children after doing some trick-or-treating.

The family was bowling when they saw people running out of the building.

“I grabbed my two kids and put them behind me,” he said.

Once outside, Iiams said he also heard someone say something about an active shooter.