Google Maps The El Paso mall where the shooting occurred.
El Paso, Texas, police are confirming that four people were shot or injured at Cielo Vista Mall on February 15, 2023, and one of those people has died.
Video captured the panic at the scene.
El Paso police Sergeant Robert Gomez said in a news conference that, at 5:10 p.m. on February 15, 2023, multiple 911 calls came in from the mall for a “possible active shooter.”
Multiple units responded, according to Gomez. Four people were injured or shot, and one person died, Gomez said. The other three victims were transported to local hospitals, he said.
Gomez said the shooting likely occurred at the food court, but police are still working to confirm that information. Earlier, El Paso police tweeted that they responded to a “shots fired” call in the food court of Cielo Vista Mall.
Here’s what you need to know:
Police Say an Off-Duty Officer Took a Suspect Into Custody
Police are responding to shots fired in the food court of Cielo Vista Mall, scene still active. Avoid the area.
In a later news conference, El Paso Police Chief Pascillas said two people were now in custody. He said the shooting broke out at 5:05 p.m., and an off-duty officer working at the mall was on the scene at 5:08 p.m. and “immediately took one individual into custody.”
Multiple agencies responded, he said. “It was a dynamic scene. It was quickly brought under control,” Pascillas said.
“There is no more danger to the public,” he added in the news conference, noting that the suspects and victims are all males.
“This is a large scene. It will take time to clear the mall,” Gomez said in the news conference.
Gomez said the motive is still under investigation, including whether the shooting was targeted or a random attack. The suspects’ names have not been released.
Video From the El Paso Mall Circulated on Twitter
BREAKING: Shooting at Mall in El Paso, Texas at least 4 shot and 1 dead… developing story..
Videos showed panic in the El Paso mall.
Multiple units are clearing the mall to secure it, Gomez said. “We do not have any active shooters at this time,” he said. “We do believe the scene is secure.”
Gomez said in the news conference that he did not have ages of the victims. He said authorities are focusing on making sure that everybody “is safe.”
KVIA-TV reported that two victims are in critical condition.
A witness told the television station that three gunshots rang out, and then people ran in panic.
“We have two patients, both in critical condition,” said University Medical Center of El Paso spokesman Ryan Mielke to The El Paso Times.
Police Say the Suspect Was Taken Into Custody Shortly After the Shootings Erupted
Police are responding to shots fired in the food court of Cielo Vista Mall, scene still active. Avoid the area.
“Police are responding to shots fired in the food court of Cielo Vista Mall, scene still active. Avoid the area,” police initially wrote on Twitter on February 15, 2023.
“Mall scene is still active please avoid the area. Multiple agencies responding to the area,” the El Paso Police Department tweeted on February 15, 2023.
The suspect was taken into custody inside the mall very shortly after the incident began, Gomez said in the news conference.
He said authorities have multiple suspect descriptions.
Witness Robert Gonzalez told CNN he saw “people running to the exit.” According to CNN, he mentioned the 2019 mass shooting at an El Paso Walmart store, which is still on people’s minds in that city.
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