Funviralpark At an evening press conference, Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges announced arrests in connection with a shooting in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington on Friday night, saying all would be charged with murder. reported the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
According to the Star Tribune, Hodges said the suspects were two 18-year-old men and three 17-year-old boys, who were arrested in the morning at their home in nearby St. Louis Park by a SWAT team officer. said to have been detained by three jurisdictions.
The chief added that one of the 18-year-olds is believed to be the shooter, but another suspect may have also fired the weapon. A sixth suspect is still under investigation.
“In Bloomington, if you come here and kill people in our mall, you can get one of these for Christmas.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Waltz said Saturday that the mall shooting was “absolutely unacceptable. We are in contact with local officials to provide them with the assistance and resources they need.”
Police have not yet identified the 19-year-old boy who was murdered, but police chief and Bloomington Mayor Tim Busse have spoken to the man’s relatives.
Frightened customers scrambled to safety after Friday’s shooting at a Nordstrom store in America’s largest shopping center. A bystander allegedly grazed his jacket with a bullet.
According to police, some sort of altercation between the two groups appeared to escalate into a fistfight, with someone pulling out a gun and shooting the victim multiple times.
A nearby Bloomington police officer, one of 16 people stationed at the mall that day, heard gunshots around 7:50 p.m.
The lockdown lasted about an hour, and the mall tweeted that shoppers were being let out. Videos posted on social media showed people hiding in stores, and announcements inside the mall warned people to evacuate.
Since opening in 1992, the Mall of America has been both a tourist destination and a community gathering place. Firearms are prohibited on the premises, but shoppers usually don’t have to go through metal detectors. The mall said in October that it was testing a “weapon detection system” at one of its entrances.
Reportedly, the mall was shut down in August, with shoppers fleeing to hide.
