Mall of America shooting: one dead, five arrested

A shooting at the largest shopping centre in the United States is the latest in the unrelenting gun violence epidemic in the country. Police have now arrested five suspects in connection with a shooting inside the Mall of America, a massive shopping centre that draws tourists nationwide to Bloomington, Minnesota.

The shooting occurred on Friday evening when apparently two groups of young men got into a scuffle at Nordstrom, an upscale clothing store common in shopping centres in the US. Police officers raced to the location when the sound of gunfire rang out through the Mall of America, coming from the first floor of the clothing store. There they encountered a man who had been shot several times. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

The victim was later identified as a 19 year old man. After obtaining search warrants, a total of five similarly young men were all taken into custody in connection with the shooting. Three 17 year old boys along with another two 18 year olds were arrested by the Bloomington Police, according to their police chief. He expressed confidence that the people arrested were directly responsible for the shooting incident at the Mall of America.

There are over 500 stores in the massive Mall of America as well as restaurants, a theme park, an aquarium, and a cinema. It has been a major tourist attraction in the Midwest of the US since opening its doors in 1992. But the entire mall went on lockdown after the shooting incident, despite it being right before Christmas, the busiest shopping time of the year.

Nordstrom remains closed, but the rest of the Mall of America reopened yesterday to the public.

Politicians spoke out following the shooting incident. On Twitter, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz called the shooting in such a busy place of commerce “absolutely unacceptable”. He said that his office has already been working with local officials to provide resources and support.

U.s. Senator Chris Murphy also spoke on Twitter. He commented about the out-of-control gun violence in the US. The country suffers several hundred mass shootings a year and so far in 2022 over 43,000 people have died in shootings, according to Gun Violence Archive. He condemned the US for being the only country in the world with so many shootings.

“[It] doesn’t happen anywhere else but here.”