- Arlington Parks Mall in Arlington, Texas, was placed on lockdown after a reported argument ended in shots fired
- Two victims were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, and police say the gunman remains at large
Two people were shot and a Texas mall was locked down after a gun was pulled during a heated argument, police say.
Police rushed to Arlington Parks Mall in Arlington, Texas, around 7:30 PM Thursday evening after two groups clashed in a hallway between an ice skating rink and a Dicks Sporting Goods store.
The two people shot were rushed to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Their status is currently unclear and it is unknown if they were part of the altercation or bystanders.
According to CBS NewsAn eyewitness said he saw three people attack a man in the middle of the mall before one of the attackers pulled out a gun and fired a shot into the air.
Officials say the gunman who fled on foot remains at large and is wanted, although police have not yet released a description and believe the incident is isolated with no further threat to the public.
Customers were evacuated from Arlington Parks Mall Thursday evening as a large police presence responded to a shooting that left two people hospitalized
A significant police presence descended on the mall and hastily evacuated the building after shots were fired around 7:30 p.m.
After officials evacuated the area and sealed off the building, footage emerged showing the usually busy mall eerily quiet as terrified customers fled.
Authorities said the mall already had increased security during the holiday season, including non-uniform officers.
Sergeant Courtney White praised security for their quick action in locking down the shopping center 'immediately' and moving customers to safety.
White added that investigators were working to determine how the victims were shot and whether they were part of the fighting, and warned of the dangers of firearms.
“Firearms are deadly … and we could very well have been on the verge of a murder,” she said. “We would like to remind people: please do not take firearms where they are prohibited.”
Witness Camile Labista, 13, said her day out at the mall with her friends turned into chaos after the sound of a gunshot rang through the mall.
She told Fox4 that she hid in a storage bin until she could call her parents.
“We were standing in line at Starbucks and all of a sudden we heard a loud bang,” she said. “We thought it looked like a hockey stick broke because they were playing hockey inside.
'But we just saw everyone running. And so we ran, taking my two best friends with us. And so we met Miss A. They hid us in a storage room with the lights off and our phones on silent.
“And we were just praying, waiting for our family, calling them and making sure everything was okay.”
Officials do not believe the shooting is a mass shooting or an attempt to cause a mass casualty, and the mall will reopen as usual on Friday.