Boise police on Monday responded to reports of “shots fired” at a mall on N. Milwaukee where at least two people were killed and four people – including a cop – were injured.
One suspect is in custody and officers are working their way through the mall to clear each business, Boise police said, adding later that some shoppers were still trapped inside the mall.
Police close off a street outside a shopping mall after a shooting in Boise, Idaho on Monday, Oct. 25, 2021. Police said there are reports of multiple injuries and one person is in custody.
(AP Photo/Rebecca Boone)
“I cannot stress enough how traumatic this event is for the community at large as well as for those that were witnesses or are the family of those involved or involved themselves,” Boise Police Chief Ryan Lee told reporters at a press conference.
Police said officers responded to reports of “shots fired” around 1:15 p.m. local time at the Boise Towne Square shopping mall.
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Responding officers encountered an individual who matched the suspect’s description and there was an exchange of gunfire, police said. One of the officers was injured amid the gunfire and the suspect was arrested.
Police said they have no further information indicating additional threats and believe the suspect acted alone.
Terrifying footage shared online shows people running for the exits while what sounds like gunshots can be heard firing off somewhere in the distance.
After the shooting, several witnesses stood in the rain outside the entrance to Macy’s — one of five large department stores at the mall — waiting to be interviewed by police or told they could leave. Patrol cars from several agencies, ambulances, and fire trucks filled a section of the mall parking lot. Officers from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives were assisting in the investigation.
North and southbound lanes on Milwaukee Street Between Emerald and Franklin roads were closed amid the investigation, Ada County Highway District said. Police were asking people to avoid the area.
Fox News has reached out to Boise police seeking further comment.
Police are working to notify the victims’ families. An investigation is ongoing.
About a quarter of a mile away, officers closed part of a road near a busy intersection so they could investigate a second crime scene related to the shooting incident. Officers at the second crime scene declined to answer questions about the investigation other than to confirm it was related to the shooting investigation.
Cheri Gypin, of Boise, was in the mall with a friend where they walk for an hour three or four times a week. She said she heard several large bangs, but thought something had fallen from the ceiling. Then about 60 people, including families pushing strollers, came running at them, some of them shouting that there was an active shooter.
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“My friend was trying to process it,” said Gypin, 60. “I just looked at her and said, ‘We’ve got to run.’ So we just ran and kept running until we got to the outer perimeter of the parking lot.”
They made their way back to their car, where police told the crowd of people who had fled the mall to leave the parking area.
Boise Mayor Lauren McLean asked members of the public and the news media to give the victims and their families privacy as they deal with the trauma of the shooting. She thanked the law enforcement officers, first responders and others she said worked to keep the community safe.
“Countless people found themselves in a situation they never would have or should have expected,” McLean said, lauding the shopkeepers and others in the mall for reacting “so quickly to take care of folks that were there. You showed in a tough and chaotic moment how much you care and what you’re willing to do to support and care for strangers.”
The Boise Towne Square shopping mall is located in Idaho’s largest city and is the city’s largest mall.
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Monday’s shooting comes amid an increase in mall shootings. Earlier this month, four people were shot and two others were injured while fleeing the scene of a shooting at a Park City Center mall in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/boise-police-shots-fired-mall-multiple-are-injured