One person was killed and another wounded when shots were fired at a Florida shopping center packed with Christmas shoppers, police said.
People ran for their lives at the Paddock Mall in Ocala, about an hour north of Orlando, around 4 p.m. Saturday.
A man, later identified as David Nathaniel Barron, 40, was found dead in a common area after being shot in the head, while a woman was shot in the leg. according to the police.
Other mall goers were injured while trying to escape.
Police believe the shooting may have been targeted and that the shooter is on the loose.
The suspect was described as a black man wearing a hoodie and a red baseball cap, police said.
Officers also recovered a firearm believed to have been used in the deadly incident.
A local journalist who was volunteering at the mall at the time of the shooting said she saw the gunman just a few feet away from her.
According to police, a male victim was shot in the head in a common area and was found dead. A woman suffered a gunshot wound to the leg. Her injuries are not life-threatening. Joan Ivette Serrano/Facebook
“I was volunteering at the packing station that raises money for the domestic violence shelter, and the gunman was probably about 10 feet away,” said witness Jennifer Hunt Murty. “We didn’t really have any protection other than tables with tablecloths on them, but we dropped to the ground and everyone else was running, so we were very close to the shooting when it happened and we had very little protection to hide from.”
Murty, who hid under a table, said he thought he saw two people shooting.
Josh Pawchi, who was trapped inside Kay Jewelers with his parents, posted a video on Facebook of his stepfather telling someone on the phone that two people were “shooting each other” outside Chick-fil-A.
Reports of a shooting at the Paddock Mall were called to the Ocala Police Department around 4 p.m. Saturday, causing shoppers to run for their lives. Joan Ivette Serrano/Facebook
“He chased him and kept shooting at him,” Pawchi’s stepfather can be heard in the footage. “They were chasing each other.”
The Post has contacted the Pawchi family for comment. Police confirmed that the deceased man was believed to be part of the shooting, but did not say whether he also had a gun.
The mall has since been evacuated.
Megan Garcia was inside Kay Jeweler’s when she heard two gunshots, she told the Ocala Star Banner.
Video filmed by a passerby inside Bath and Body Works shows customers ducking behind the registers before fleeing out the store’s back door. T’unica Mitchell/Facebook Cops revealed a person of interest in connection with the Paddock Mall shooting. ocalá police
“I dropped everything and ran,” he said.
Melissa Ramirez, who was inside Starbucks when the shooting began, told the Gazette that she and her sister had been shopping for Christmas gifts and had stopped for a drink.
“We’re walking through Starbucks, we’re laughing, we’re smiling, we’re joking about our drinks… the next thing you know we hear ‘pop’ and we look back because we weren’t sure if it was just something, but then we hear ‘pop, pop,’ and That’s when I grabbed (my sister) and told her to run,” Ramírez said.
“Everyone was screaming, running, pushing and trying to get out.”
Police believe the shooting may have been targeted. Police confirmed that the deceased man was believed to be part of the shooting, but did not say whether he also had a gun. Joan Ivette Serrano/Facebook
Video taken by a passerby inside Bath and Body Works shows customers ducking behind the registers before fleeing out the back door of the store.
Frightened customers pushed and shoved each other as they left, footage shows. The young woman filming the video could be heard saying “mom” several times.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn