Two days after gunfire at Aventura Mall injures three, creates panic, cops remain mum
Two days after a shooting at one of South Florida’s largest and most popular malls injured three people and had crowds racing for cover and for exits, Aventura police said no arrests have been made and the department would not be releasing any information.
In a brief, one-paragraph note to local and national media, Aventura Police Maj. Mike Bentolila said his department is working “diligently” and had made “huge strides,” but that he wasn’t willing to share any information that might “hamper” the city’s ability to prosecute anyone.
According to law-enforcement sources, the shooting happened in a first-floor indoor area next to the entrance of Nordstrom, the Louis Vuitton, Carolina Herrera and Hugo Boss stores and Sur La Table, an upscale cookware store. Groups of shoppers sat at dining tables when a confrontation broke out between two groups of young men in front of a decorative fountain underneath an escalator.
One man, in a dark-colored Adidas jacket, was seen holding a firearm and opened fire during the confrontation. Another man in the crowd, whose connection to the fight was unclear, also opened fire.
Another source said a gun was found near a food-court area. Bentolila would only say that no weapon used in the shooting had been recovered by Aventura police.
“I can assure you that once we are able to, we will provide you with all of the information that we can,” Bentolila wrote, adding that his department was inundated with hundreds of calls to dispatchers and 911 during the incident.
The Miami Herald has made several attempts to get information about the shooting, which made national headlines. Bentolila returned a text early Monday evening, but declined to provide updated information. Police Chief Bryan Pegues hadn’t returned a call to his office by late Monday afternoon and City Manager Ron Wasson hadn’t returned an email.
In addition to the three people wounded with non-life-threatening injuries, police said two others were treated at local hospitals after being injured while fleeing the mall.
The shooting at Aventura Mall at 19501 Biscayne Blvd., one of the 20 largest shopping malls in the nation with more than 300 stores, happened just before 4 p.m. Police with bomb-sniffing dogs secured the property and shut down some adjacent streets as shoppers scrambled from hiding spots to try and get outside the building.
Shoppers stuck inside the mall posted pictures and spoke of their fears on social media for over two hours before Aventura police said they believed the property was secure and there was no longer a threat. A day later on Sunday, crowds again materialized and the mall was back to normal.
Almost a year ago, a brawl at Nordstrom in the same mall erupted in gunfire. Two men were wounded and the alleged shooter has been charged with two counts of attempted murder.
