by
CNN
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Five people were arrested Saturday in connection with last night’s fatal shooting of a 19-year-old man at Minnesota’s Mall of America, the largest mall in the United States, police said.
The suspects – three 17-year-old men and two 18-year-old men – were arrested after police issued a search warrant on Saturday, Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges told reporters.
Investigators believe the shooter is one of the adults arrested, Hodges said. They’re trying to find out if another shooter was involved. According to Hodges, the suspects should be charged with second-degree murder.
“We don’t know why that happened,” Hodges said. “And we don’t know why, because people just don’t want to cooperate and they don’t want to talk.”
Hodges had previously said officers heard gunshots on the first floor of Nordstrom’s first floor just before 8 p.m. local time on Friday and found a man shot multiple times inside the store. ,
On Saturday, Hodges said an officer working at the Watches of Switzerland store saw people coming from Nordstrom, ran into the store and found the victim.
Life-saving measures were taken on the victim, but were unsuccessful. A spectator grazed by a bullet is likely to survive, Hodges said.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said his office is working with local officials to provide support and resources, tweeting, “The violence at the MOA last night is absolutely unacceptable.”
The 30-year-old mall, about 10 miles south of downtown Minneapolis, is a popular Midwestern tourist destination with tens of millions of visitors a year. According to its owners, the huge shopping complex has more than 500 shops, more than 50 restaurants, dozens of attractions and two hotels.
Friday’s shooting comes about five months after suspects fired shots into a crowded store at the mall. No casualties were reported in the August incident.
Hodges said the fatal shooting was the first gun-related homicide at the mall. In 1999, there was a fatal household stabbing at the mall, he said.
A preliminary investigation into Friday’s incident found an altercation between about five to nine people in Nordstrom. Store surveillance video showed a man pulling a gun and shooting at the victim, Hodges said.
“We have an incident where if someone decides to pull out a gun and shoot someone without respecting human life, I still don’t know what we can do to stop that,” Hodges said.
A motive for the shooting is not yet clear.
Jovonta Patton, a Billboard gospel singer, was filming an Instagram reel at a Gucci location in Nordstrom when gunfire rang out in the background.
patton quickly ran to the back room of the store to hide for about 15 minutes, where about six or seven others had also taken cover, he told CNN.
Several New York Giants players were also at the mall at the time of the shooting, according to NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero.
The team stayed at a nearby hotel ahead of a game against the Minnesota Vikings in Minneapolis on Saturday. Giants spokesman Pat Hanlon told The Associated Press on Friday that the players who were at the mall during filming had made it back to the hotel and all had been accounted for.
CNN has reached out to the New York Giants for comment.
Team spokesman Bob Papa was also at the mall during the incident.
“Scary here @mallofamerica,” he tweeted on Friday. “Shooting at the mall. In lockdown at #TwinCitiesGrill. Two gunmen, at least one victim.” An hour later, Dad said, “Safely out of the mall and back to the hotel. Prayers to the victim.”
