Five people have been arrested over the fatal shooting of a 19-year-old man at the Mall of America, police said.
The shooting occurred at the nation’s largest mall on Friday evening after a fight broke out between two groups of men. The 19-year-old was shot and died in front of a Nordstroms on the mall’s first floor.
Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges announced on Saturday that five arrests had been made in connection with the shooting. He said that all of the individuals arrested would face murder charges
According to Mr Hodges, two 18-year-old men and three 17-year-old males were arrested by a SWAT team at a home in nearby St Louis Park.
Mr Hodges said that one of the 18-year-olds is believed to be the alleged shooter, but noted that another suspect may also have fired a weapon. Police are also searching for a potential sixth suspect.
“I’m fairly confident we do have the person responsible for murdering the victim in custody,” he said during the press conference.
The chief said the shooting may have been the result of a “long-standing feud” between the two groups.
“So, you come to Bloomington and think you’re going to kill people and get away with it? No, we’re not playing that here. You’re going to jail, and we’re going to make sure that anybody else that helped these folks are going to go to jail, too,” Mr Hodges said.
Governor Tim Walz acknowledged the shooting on Saturday, noting that it was "absolutely unacceptable."
"We are in touch with local officials to provide the support and resources they need," he said.
According to Mr Hodges, police have spoken with the victim’s family, but have not released his name to the public.
On the day of the shooting there were 16 Bloomington police officers stationed at the mall. One of them heard the gunshots and attempted to save the victim, but was unsuccessful.
The shooting caused a lockdown at the mall, closing it for the remainder of the night on one of the busiest shopping days of the year. The mall re-opened the following day, though the Nordstroms remained closed.
This is the second time this year a shooting has occurred at the mall. In August a group of men fired into a Nike store at another group of men they had fought with earlier in the day. No one was injured in that incident.
The Mall of America bans weapons on its premises, but does not require shoppers to pass through metal detectors at its entryways. According to the Associated Press, the mall said in October it was planning to test out a “weapons detection system” at one of its entries.
