Police: At Least One Person Killed, Three Injured After Texas Mall Shooting
01:41 GMT 16.02.2023 (Updated: 02:18 GMT 16.02.2023)
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The city of El Paso, Texas, was previously the site of the August 2019 mass shooting at a local area Walmart. The incident was described at the deadliest anti-Latino attack after the gunman killed 23 individuals and injured 23 others.
At least one person was killed on Wednesday after shots were fired at the Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso, Texas, law enforcement officials have confirmed.
Three other individuals sustained injuries. Their condition is unknown.
The El Paso Police Department has stated that the scene is presently secured after having taken one person into custody; however, the department's Sgt. Robert Gomez has stated authorities are carrying out a search to ensure there was only one perpetrator.
"We do believe there could be one outstanding," Gomez told reporters, but fell short of offering a description of the second suspect. He underscored there was no longer an active shooter situation.
Officials have yet to determine a possible motive for the shooting.
The sergeant described the scene to the media as "chaotic" as shoppers fled the scene and sought out shelter. "They were scared," Gomez recalled.
Report of a shooting came in at about 5 p.m. local time after dispatch received calls of shots fired at the mall's food court area.
Footage from the scene has noted a heavy police presence at the mall, with some estimates of over 50 police cruisers responding to the incident.
Law enforcement presence continues to grow at Cielo Vista Mall as police investigate shooting. Well over 50 law enforcement vehicles at scene as more flood in. pic.twitter.com/bea5FsudGV
— Aaron Martinez (@AMartinezEPT) February 16, 2023
VIDEO: El Paso police are investigating a shooting Wednesday evening at the food court inside Cielo Vista Mall, officials said. pic.twitter.com/nv8q0mUeIY
— Aaron Martinez (@AMartinezEPT) February 16, 2023
A wide array of officials from the El Paso Police Department, SWAT teams and authorities with other agencies responded to the scene. Dozens of officers armed with rifles have remained on the scene.
The Cielo Vista Mall is situated next to the same Walmart store where a Texas gunman with white supremacist beliefs gunned down shoppers in the store's parking lot and inside the grocery store. In total, 23 people were killed as another 23 sustained injuries. The gunman later surrendered to police and admitted the shooting was rooted in his anti-immigrant stance.
The shooting also comes just days after a gunman at Michigan State University killed three students and injured five other individuals. The suspect was later found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
