One person was killed and another was injured in a shooting at a Florida mall packed with vacationing shoppers, police said.
People ran for safety at the Paddock Mall in Ocala, about an hour north of Orlando, around 4 p.m. Saturday.
A man, later identified as 40-year-old David Nathaniel Barron, was found dead in a public area after being shot in the head, while a woman was shot in the leg, according to the police.
Another mall visitor was injured while trying to escape.
Police believe the shooting may have been targeted and the shooter fled.
The suspect is described as a black man wearing a hoodie and a red baseball cap, police said.
Police also found a firearm believed to have been used in the fatal incident.
A local journalist who was volunteering at the mall at the time of the incident said he saw the gunman just a few feet away.
A male victim was allegedly shot in the head in a public area and was found dead, according to police. A woman suffered a gunshot wound to her leg. His injuries were not life-threatening. Joan Ivette Serrano/Facebook
“I was volunteering at a wrap station that was collecting money for domestic violence shelters, and the gunman was probably about 10 feet away,” said witness Jennifer Hunt Murty. “We didn’t really have any cover other than a table with linen on it but we went to the floor, and everyone was running, so we were very close to the shooting when it happened, and had little cover to hide.”
Murty, who was hiding under a table, said he believed he saw two people shooting.
Josh Pawchi, who was trapped inside Kay Jewelers with his parents, posted a video to Facebook in which his stepfather told someone over the phone that two people were “shooting at each other” outside Chick-fil-A.
A report of a shooting at the Paddock Mall was called to the Ocala Police Department around 4 p.m. Saturday, causing shoppers to run for their lives. Joan Ivette Serrano/Facebook
“He chased after him and kept shooting at him,” Pawchi’s stepfather is heard saying in the recording. “They chase each other.”
The Post has reached out to Pawchi’s family for comment. Police confirmed that the dead man was believed to be part of the shooting, but did not say whether he also had a weapon.
The mall has been evacuated.
Megan Garcia was inside Kay Jeweler when she heard two gunshots, she told the Ocala Star Banner.
Video captured by an onlooker inside Bath and Body Works shows a customer hiding behind a cash register before fleeing out the store’s back door. T’unica Mitchell/Facebook Cops have identified a person of interest in connection with the Paddock Mall shooting. Ocala Police
“I dropped everything and ran,” he said.
Melissa Ramirez, who was inside the Starbucks when the shooting began, told the Gazette she and her sister had been shopping for Christmas presents and had stopped for a drink.
“We’re walking around Starbucks, we’re laughing, we’re smiling, joking about our drinks…next thing you know we hear a ‘pop’ and we’re looking back because we’re not sure if it’s just something, but then we hear a ‘pop, pop,’ and that’s when I grabbed (my sister) and I told her to run,” Ramirez said.
“Everybody was screaming and running and pushing and trying to get out.”
Police believe the shooting may have been targeted. Police confirmed that the dead man was believed to be separate from the shooting, but did not say whether he also had a weapon. Joan Ivette Serrano/Facebook
Video taken by an onlooker inside Bath and Body Works shows customers crowding behind the cash register before fleeing out the store’s back door.
Frightened customers push and shove each other as they exit, the footage shows. The young woman who recorded the video can be heard saying “mom” several times.
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
