Two people were wounded in a shooting just outside of a popular Utah mall on Sunday where hundreds of scared shoppers hunkered down until police arrived to evacuate the building.
A man and a woman, both in their early 20s, were shot at around 1.30pm near the southeast entrance to the Fashion Place mall in Murray, a suburb south of Salt Lake City, Murray Police Officer Kenny Bass said.
The man was in critical condition while the woman was in serious condition. Both were treated at a hospital.
Police were looking for three people suspected in the shooting, Bass said, adding that the shooting may be gang related.
Al Collins was shopping in Dillard’s with his girlfriend when the fire alarm started blaring and someone on a loudspeaker said to evacuate.
He started filming with his phone and posted the clip to a YouTube account called ‘Why Not Motors.’
‘I filmed the shooting by Dillard’s and the Food court, someone pulled the fire alarm and no one was reacting and all the sudden gun shots,’ he wrote in the caption with the video.
‘I told the cops where the shooter was. I was only filming because no one was doing anything when the fire alarm was going off.’
Video captures gunshots ringing out when two people were wounded in a shooting just outside a popular Salt Lake City, Utah mall on Sunday, in what police say may have been a gang related incident. AI Collins is pictured (left) holding his girlfriend’s hand as they ran out, and the totally calm scene just moments before the shots were fired at Fashion Place mall in Murray, a suburb south of Salt Lake City, is shown at right
Collins said: ‘Right after I started filming, gunshots were right around the corner from me.’
He kept recording until his girlfriend and him were out in the parking lot, capturing her sobs in the video.
‘I didn’t even really know what was going on. I was pretty sure it was gunshots,’ he said. ‘I felt like we couldn’t run fast enough to get out of there.’
A man and a woman, both in their early 20s, were shot at around 1.30pm near the southeast entrance to the Fashion Place mall in Murray, a suburb south of Salt Lake City, Murray Police Officer Kenny Bass said. Evelyn Salazar Atwood wipes tears from her eyes after reuniting with her son, Chris Salazar, who works at Fashion Place Mall, after the shooting on Sunday
The Fashion Place mall said in a tweet it was ‘very saddened by the incident’ and grateful for the actions of security and Murray police. Chris Salazar, who works at Fashion Place Mall, hugs his mother, Evelyn Salazar Atwood, who rushed to the scene after a shooting at the mall in Murray on Sunday
Hundreds of shoppers were escorted by police out of the mall holding their hands in the air
Hundreds of shoppers were escorted by police out of the mall holding their hands in the air.
The mall is a highly visited shopping center in the heart of the Salt Lake City metro area with stores such as Crate and Barrel, Macy’s and Nordstrom.
Bass said no other victims or suspects were found inside the mall.
Crate and Barrel employee Danielle Calacino said that she saw people running out of the mall after the alarm blared.
The mall is a highly visited shopping center in the heart of the Salt Lake City metro area with stores such as Crate and Barrel, Macy’s and Nordstrom. Shoppers with their hands raised are evacuated from Fashion Place Mall in Murray, Utah, after a shooting on Sunday
‘I filmed the shooting by Dillard’s and the Food court, someone pulled the fire alarm and no one was reacting and all the sudden gun shots,’ AI Collins said. SWAT is seen gathering after an active shooter has injured at least two in Murray, Utah
‘I told the cops where the shooter was. I was only filming because no one was doing anything when the fire alarm was going off,’ Collins said. Police said three suspects remain at large
Collins said: ‘Right after I started filming, gunshots were right around the corner from me.’ SWAT is seen gathering after an active shooter has injured at least two in Murray, Utah
She said 10 to 12 employees and around 20 customers hid in the store’s upstairs stockroom. She said police escorted them out after about 40 minutes.
‘We were mostly all quiet and in shock,’ Calacino, a 21-year-old student at the University of Utah, said.
She said she learned there was a shooting from a message on the intercom.
Everyone immediately got on their phones, she said, to learn what was happening, as her friends were texting to ask if she was OK and some people were crying.
Stella Fonseca, an assistant manager at Claire’s, told The Salt Lake Tribune that she helped barricade a back room with filing cabinets and lockers to hide herself, other employees and four customers. Shoppers are evacuated from Fashion Place Mall in Murray, Utah, after a shooting on Sunday
Rebecca Madsen, who was working at a chocolate kiosk in the mall, told the Deseret News that she was also in the back of Claire’s. Shoppers with their hands raised are evacuated from Fashion Place Mall in Murray, Utah, after a shooting on Sunday
‘It’s fight or flight,’ Madsen said, wiping away tears. ‘I just prayed to God and asked for help and protection.’ Shoppers are evacuated from Fashion Place Mall in Murray, Utah, after a shooting on Sunday
Shoppers are evacuated from Fashion Place Mall in Murray, Utah, after a shooting on Sunday
The Fashion Place mall said in a tweet it was ‘very saddened by the incident’ and grateful for the actions of security and Murray police.
Stella Fonseca, an assistant manager at Claire’s, told The Salt Lake Tribune that she helped barricade a back room with filing cabinets and lockers to hide herself, other employees and four customers.
‘There was a sense of panic,’ she said.
Rebecca Madsen, who was working at a chocolate kiosk in the mall, told the Deseret News that she was also in the back of Claire’s.
‘It’s fight or flight,’ Madsen said, wiping away tears. ‘I just prayed to God and asked for help and protection.’
Crate and Barrel employee Danielle Calacino said that she saw people running out of the mall after the alarm blared. Shoppers with their hands raised are evacuated from Fashion Place Mall in Murray, Utah, after a shooting on Sunday
Calacino said 10 to 12 employees and around 20 customers hid in the store’s upstairs stockroom. Shoppers with their hands raised are evacuated from Fashion Place Mall in Murray, Utah, after a shooting on Sunday
Calacino said police escorted them out after about 40 minutes. Law enforcement officers are on alert at Winchester Street and 700 E. following a shooting at Fashion Place Mall in Murray, Utah on Sunday
Police said no other victims or suspects were found inside the mall. A West Valley City Police officer watches I-215 at 700 east following a shooting at Fashion Place Mall in Murray, Utah on Sunday