A man died and a woman suffered non-life-threatening injuries when a shooter opened fire inside a mall in Ocala, Florida, on Saturday, police said.
When officers arrived at Paddock Mall, they found one man killed in a common area, the Ocala Police Department said on Facebook. The woman was hospitalized and was being treated for her injuries, the department said.
The gunman is believed to have fled the scene and is still at large, police said, noting that they believe the shooting may have been targeted.
Ocala police said they got a call about an active shooter situation with multiple shots fired at the mall at 3:40 p.m., prompting the police department to respond with a “heavy police presence” to “eliminate the threat.”
By the time officers arrived, they determined there was no active shooter but that a shooting had occurred, police said.
Syriah Williams said she was shopping with her mother at a Bath and Body Works store when the shooting unfolded. She said she heard a shot, a pause, and then three more shots before “chaos erupted.”
“The employees opened the back storage area and told everyone to run. The hallway led to a back exit,” Williams said.
Police said they were doing another sweep of the mall and were investigating the incident.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
