A shooting took place at the Park Place Mall in Tucson, Arizona yesterday and alleged clips from the incident have surfaced online. The incident reportedly began as a fight among kids.
Videos shared on social media showed a group of kids engaging in a brawl and then what appears to be gunfire can be heard. One such video was shared by What's Up Tucson, which provides local news and updates on events there, on X.
Another video appeared to show more of the fight and was shared by a Tucson Scanner page.
{{/usCountry}}Another video appeared to show more of the fight and was shared by a Tucson Scanner page.
{{/usCountry}}HT.com could not independently verify the authenticity of these videos.
Reports have indicated that Tucson Police Department believe the suspect is still at large. The shooting incident has struck fear in the hearts of mall goers, despite the shopping center having opened up.
Park Place Mall shooting leaves many scared
Paige Stewart, a local who was at the mall with her five-year-old, shared the harrowing experience with KOVA, a local publication. “This is the mall I grew up going up— it doesn’t happen here— then it does,” she said.
“Just heard it was like six or seven gunshots that went off. I shoved my five year old against the wall and put myself over her,” she added.
Two individuals had to be taken to the hospital following the shooting.
Meanwhile, Stewart added “I genuinely in the moment was worried we weren’t gonna make it out. I was thinking we aren’t going make it out of here.”
The Tucson Police Department in a statement said “This type of violence in a public space is deeply concerning,” while noting that the shooting had been an isolated incident.
Park Place Mall also released a statement to the publication, saying “Our guests, employees, and community's safety remain our top priority. Thank you to the Tucson Police Department for their swift response to yesterday's incident.”
The shooting took place in the food court of the mall and had prompted people to clear out at the time. The recent incident drew backlash from many as the alleged videos were widely circulated.
“Jesus, can't wait to get out of this city.... Is that a shooting 4 days in a row now. Classy,” a person wrote on X. Another added “This is why I don’t want my daughters to go to this mall or the Tucson mall.”
Yet another said, “I hate this so much. Regular people hurting and killing each other when we need to come together against the ones who create the issues we fight over. These are just kids and now all of their lives are all irreparably harmed or ended.”