Mall of America shooting: 5 arrested after 19-year-old man shot, killed, Minnesota police say

BySTEPHANIE GUERILUS ABCNews logo
Sunday, December 25, 2022
5 arrested after man shot, killed at Mall of America: police
Five people have been arrested after a Mall of America shooting left a man shot and killed, the Bloomington, Minnesota police department said.

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- Five teenagers are in custody in connection with a deadly shooting at the Mall of America on Friday.

Three 17-year-old and two 18-year-old male suspects were arrested Saturday, Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges said.

"We are fairly confident that we do have the person responsible for murdering the victim in custody," Hodges told reporters during a briefing on Saturday.

Hodges said police believe one of the 18-year-old suspects is the shooter. All five suspects will be charged with second-degree murder, he said.

A 19-year-old man was killed after a verbal altercation became violent in a Nordstrom branch at the Mall of America on Friday evening, police said.

An officer heard gunshots near the Nordstrom at the mall at approximately 7:50 p.m., Hodges said. But when the officer went into the store, they found a man who had been shot multiple times.

The officer tried to perform life-saving measures on the victim but the man ultimately succumbed to his injuries, authorities said.

Police are working to determine if a second shooter was involved in the incident, Hodges said.

A motive in the shooting is unclear.

"People flat-out are just not cooperating and people don't want to talk," he said.

The Mall of America in Minnesota was put on lockdown after the shooting, the Bloomington Police Department said, but was reopened a little over an hour later shortly after 9 p.m. The Nordstrom's branch remained closed.

After reviewing surveillance footage of the incident, authorities believe a verbal altercation began between two groups of people before it turned physical. During the conflict a man allegedly pulled out a gun and shot the 19-year-old, Hodges said.

It is believed that the entire altercation lasted about 30 seconds, authorities said.

The victim who died in the shooting has not yet been identified.

"The family here, I feel really bad for them," Hodges said during a briefing Friday evening. "This is before Christmas, and now they're having to bury one of their loved ones."

The Nordstrom remained closed on Saturday but the Mall of America was open as usual.

ABC News' Victoria Arancio contributed to this report.