Police had earlier reported that three people, including a young child, were wounded in shootings and that one of them suffered life-threatening injuries. Police said that none of the victims’ injuries are life-threatening during a brief press conference Wednesday evening.
According to Tiffany Ngalula, Glendale police officer Tiffany Ngalula, the incident at Tanger Outlets was a brawl between two groups of people that escalated into a fight, and then a shooting.
Police say that a young man with a handgun was at the mall with a child and a woman. According to police, the man was involved in an altercation that resulted in a shooting.
Police say that two of the juvenile males from the second group were shot and taken to hospitals. The man, along with the child and woman, were then transported to another hospital to treat the unspecified injuries.
The names of the five injured people were not immediately released.
After the shooting, hundreds of people fled the fire and nervous relatives and friends rushed to help. They were lined up in the parking lot near the mall.
Police searched the mall and nearby businesses and cleared any stores where people fled. Ngalula stated that officers had hundreds more people to interview, which would likely continue well into the night.
A checkpoint at the mall’s parking lot was used to stop motorists and inspect the trunks of cars exiting. Another location had yellow crime scene tape that was placed just outside the mall entrance.
After reports of gunfire in the outdoor courtyard of the mall at 2:40 p.m., officers from the surrounding region responded. The mall is located across the street from the Westgate Entertainment District, and just a few blocks from the Arizona Cardinals’ football arena and the Arizona Coyotes hockey arena.
Gov. Doug Ducey stated that he was closely monitoring the situation.
Ducey tweeted, “Again Arizona law enforcement officers showed courage in keeping our communities safe.” “Thank you to all those in blue for your courage and service.”
Nearly two years ago, a gunman shot three people in Westgate.
Armando Hernandez (20), a suspect in the shooting, was reportedly seen walking through the entertainment district. He then returned to his car and made a video for social media. Glendale police say that the gunman was holding a cellphone in one hand, and shooting with his rifle in the other.
Hernandez has pleaded not guilty. His case will be tried in June.
