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Police are looking for a gunman who shot and killed two teenagers at a northern California shopping mall in the middle of Black Friday, sending shoppers running for safety, authorities said.
The Arden Fair shopping center in Sacramento was evacuated shortly after 6 p.m. when shots were fired near one of the mall’s entrances, police spokesman Karl Chan said.
A 19-year-old man was found dead at the mall and a 17-year-old boy was found seriously injured at a bank outside the mall. He was rushed to hospital and succumbed to his injuries several hours later, police told the Sacramento Bee on Saturday.
Workers at the mall said they heard up to a dozen gunshots.
“I heard a few gunshots, I really didn’t think about it,” Antwon Martinez said. “And more and more kept going, so everyone started running towards our back room… Everyone started running.”
He said customers and workers were evacuated through the hallways and stairs at the back of the mall.
The coronavirus pandemic has reduced crowds than usual on Black Friday, one of the busiest shopping days of the year, the newspaper reported.
Chan said the shooting appeared to be a targeted and isolated attack, although he did not disclose the shooter’s motive. Police said they were looking for a suspect in his 20s.
Further details of the shooting were not immediately revealed, but Chan urged those who may have witnessed the shooting to come forward and said the mall’s security camera footage would be examined by officials. homicide detectives.
“We know the mall has some pretty robust surveillance footage,” he said.
Gun assaults and homicides have increased in the California capital, as well as Los Angeles and other cities. About 40 homicides have been reported this year.
“We are deeply concerned about the increase in gun violence in Sacramento and other cities during the pandemic, and have supported the intensification of our efforts to reach at-risk youth,” tweeted Mayor Darrell Steinberg. “A gun is never the solution.”
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