Gunman Killed and 2 Injured — Including 12-Year-Old Bystander — During Ala. Thanksgiving Shooting
Police say a Thanksgiving night fight at an Alabama shopping center left an 18-year-old man and a 12-year-old girl injured and the gunman dead, PEOPLE confirms.
“Yesterday at 9:52 p.m., two males engaged in a physical altercation on the second floor concourse area of the Riverchase Galleria, near the entrance to Footaction,” the Hoover Police Department wrote in a Facebook statement released on Friday morning. “During the fight, one of the males produced a handgun and shot the other male twice in the torso.”
After hearing gunfire, two Hoover police officers who were working security at the mall approached the area and one of them shot the gunman, a 21-year-old man, after seeing him “brandishing a pistol,” according to the statement.
The gunman was pronounced dead on the scene.
The 18-year-old who was shot was taken to an area hospital in serious condition. The girl, described by police as an “innocent bystander,” was hospitalized in stable condition.
The case is under investigation by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, and Hoover police said the officer involved in the shooting “has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation,” as is standard in such cases.
According to police, the female victim was described as “alert” and “talking” following the shooting, reports local TV station WBRC.
During a late-night news conference held at the mall on Thursday, both the Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis and Mayor Frank Borcato praised the police officers for their quick response.
“From the time that shooting took place, they engaged and it was safe within seconds that it happened,” Derzis said, according to local station WVTM. “You don’t see that too often. So very, very proud of that.”
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Although the shopping center was scheduled to be open until midnight, so that customers could start their Black Friday shopping early, the mall closed following the shooting.
“We are devastated by the incident that happened tonight in our shopping center,” the Riverchase Galleria wrote in a statement released on social media on Thursday night.
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“We are working closely with the Hoover Police Department and are grateful for their swift action to contain the situation,” the statement continued. “While there is no current danger to our community, the shopping center will remain closed until further notice.”
(Neither Riverchase nor Hoover police immediately responded to PEOPLE’s messages.)
We are devastated by the incident that happened tonight in our shopping center. We are working closely with the Hoover Police Department. While there is no current danger to our community, we will remain closed until further notice.https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
— Riverchase Galleria (@ShopRiverchase) November 23, 2018
The mall reopened at 6 a.m. on Friday, according to WBRC.
After gunshots first broke out, witnesses told NBC News that hundreds of shoppers fled the area.
Multiple witnesses claimed to have heard 10 shots, WVTM reported.
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