Man fatally shot in crowded Philadelphia mall food court
A man was fatally shot in a crowded Philadelphia mall food court Monday evening, police said.
Gunfire erupted just after 5 p.m. in the Philadelphia Mills mall. The 21-year-old victim was shot in the chest and pronounced dead on the scene, according to Philadelphia police. His name has not been released.
No other injuries were reported in the shooting, which prompted authorities to lock down the mall while SWAT and K9 teams searched for a suspect. Several people were taken into custody for questioning, but no arrests have been made, police said Tuesday. Authorities are offering a $20,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest in the case.
"Some of these individuals are known to us but at this time there's not much more we can say," Philadelphia Police Sgt. Eric Gripp told NBC Philadelphia.
Police said in a statement that the shooting followed a fight. Video showed the moment the victim entered the food court and encountered a man on crutches. The men had a brief argument before the victim knocked over the man on crutches, according to police.
Another man, wearing a gray hoodie, and a woman rushed over to the man who had fallen. That is when the man in the hoodie pulled out a gun and started shooting, police said. He and the woman ran from the scene.
Footage showed the victim try to run before collapsing.
People who were in the mall said they heard about 20 gunshots, NBC Philadelphia reported.
Monday's shooting was one in a spate of recent shootings in the city. The week ending March 21 saw 777 shootings, according to the news station. Homicides are also up 29 percent from the same time last year, which was a particularly deadly year for the city.
The Philadelphia City Council was scheduled to hold special hearing Tuesday to examine the murder rate and increased gun violence.
