One person died and two people were injured in a shooting at a shopping mall in Vancouver, Washington, Thursday night, according to the Vancouver Police Department.
Officers are warning the suspect is still at large and may be armed.
Vancouver Mall in Vancouver, Wash., Nov. 1, 2024. One person died and two people were injured in a shooting at a shopping mall in Vancouver, Washington, Thursday night, according to the Vancouver Police Department.
Erik Neumann / OPB
At a press conference livestreamed by KGW, Vancouver police spokesperson Kim Kapp said police received a call around 7:30 p.m. Thursday of a disturbance at Vancouver Mall with possible shots fired.
They later heard from multiple witnesses that a person had shot another person in the food court area of the mall.
That person “fired several other rounds which struck two other individuals,” Kapp said.
When officers arrived on scene, they found one person dead. The other two people injured in the shooting were taken to a nearby hospitals. Police have not released any information about their conditions.
Just after 8:30 p.m., police said there was no longer an active threat inside the mall, and that anyone who had been sheltering in place could safely leave through any exit.
There were families inside the mall for a Halloween trick-or-treating event when the shooting happened. Kapp said she was not aware of any reports of children being injured.
No word yet on why the shooting happened or whether the suspect knew the victims.
Vancouver police asked anyone with information on this shooting to call the police tip line at 360-487-7399.
Anyone that has been sheltering in place inside the mall can leave through any open exit. Anyone with information on this investigation is asked to call the VPD Tip Line at 360-487-7399.
— Vancouver Police USA (@VancouverPDUSA) November 1, 2024