ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — An 18-year-old man was taken into custody late Wednesday night in connection with the deadly double shooting at the St. Louis Galleria Mall.
Police said one man was killed and another was injured in the shooting that occurred at around 12:35 Wednesday afternoon.
During a press conference at 4 p.m., St. Louis County police spokesperson Ben Granda said the man who died in the shooting was in his early 20s. His name has not been released. The other man who was shot remains hospitalized, but his injuries were not life-threatening.
Granda said a dispute began inside the mall between two groups of people and led to the shooting. Granda said the relationship between the two groups of people is not known. It happened near the northwest portion of the mall, on the second floor near a pair of escalators.
Before taking the person of interest into custody, police said they were looking for three or four people who fled the scene.
Anyone with information on the man should call the St. Louis County Police Department at 636-529-8210 or leave a tip with CrimeStoppers at 866-371-8477.
A man who spoke with 5 On Your Side said he was inside the mall on his lunch break when he heard three gunshots.
"I knew what it was right away," he said, adding that other people seemed confused at first before he saw people running away from the gunshots.
The man described the shooting as happening near the Champs store. He saw a group of people gathering around a victim at the bottom of an escalator. He said evidence at the scene appeared to indicate the man was shot at the top of the escalator on the second floor and then fell down the stairs to the first floor.
5 On Your Side also reached out to several stores inside the mall. An employee at Forever 21 said they had to close their gates and shelter customers.
An employee at a nearby store said she heard several loud bangs that sounded like gunshots and then a security officer ran by and told her to lock the store’s gates and shelter in place.
A customer who was inside the mall told 5 On Your Side's Anne Allred that she was told to leave the building and said the shooting happened near the Champs Sports store.
Photos from the scene show fire trucks, ambulances and police SUVs on the parking lot of the mall in Richmond Heights. Several police cruisers were parked outside the entrance and police were directing traffic away from the mall.
5 On Your Side's helicopter was over the scene as one person was loaded into the back of an ambulance.
A mall employee told 5 On Your Side that the mall planned to open Thursday at its normal time of 11 a.m.
The mall posted this statement to its Facebook page Wednesday night:
"We are disheartened by the senseless tragedy that occurred in our shopping center this afternoon. If you have any information regarding the person of interest as identified by the Saint Louis County Police please contact 636-529-8210 or CrimeStoppers at 866-371-8477."
