El Paso, Texas- Tragedy has struck the city of El Paso as police have confirmed one person was killed and three other were wounded as a result of a shooting inside Cielo Vista Mall.
Police say they have have one person in custody but there may be another shooter who has not been detained.
Two of the wounded individuals are in critical condition.
The first calls about shots fired came in around 5:10 Mountain Time according to police.
Law Enforcement officers remain on scene.
The El Paso Times reported:
A person was killed and three others were injured in a shooting Wednesday evening inside Cielo Vista Mall, El Paso police confirmed.
“We have one person in custody,” El Paso Police Department spokesman Sgt. Robert Gomez said at a news conference. One more person might be involved as well but has not been detained, he added. No description of the outstanding suspect was available.
“We don’t have any active shooters at this time,” Gomez said. “All we know right now that it’s isolated to Cielo Vista Mall.”
He said the shooting was inside the mall, but could not confirm it was at the food court.
Cellphone videos posted on social media showed customers running out of the mall into the parking lot as police rushed to the scene. A young man was detained nearby.
Gomez said the first calls came in at 5:10 p.m. about shots fired, and multiple law enforcement units responded.
One person died in the shooting and three others were injured, he said. The injured were transported to area hospitals.
“We have two patients, both in critical condition,” said University Medical Center of El Paso spokesman Ryan Mielke. He said he didn’t know the patients’ ages or genders yet.
El Paso police, including the SWAT team, and units from other agencies responded to help clear and secure the mall he added.
He said the shooting suspect was taken into custody soon after the attack, but did not know the suspect’s gender or age.
A large police presence remained at the mall Wednesday night. The public is asked by police officials to stay away from the area.
Some customers and mall employees took shelter inside the mall.
The El Paso Police Department issued a citywide tactical alert as numerous agencies responded.
Cielo Vista Mall is next to the Walmart store where a gunman killed 23 people on Aug. 3, 2019. The Walmart shooter pleaded guilty last week to federal hate crime charges in the mass shooting targeting Latinos.
The El Paso Police Department held a press conference Wednesday night:
Video: El Paso Police Department press conference on Cielo Vista Mall shooting. 1 dead, 3 injured in shooting. 1/ pic.twitter.com/0x6o9411Ch
— Aaron Martinez (@AMartinezEPT) February 16, 2023
Video # 2:
Video: El Paso Police Department press conference on Cielo Vista Mall shooting. 1 dead, 3 injured in shooting. 2/ pic.twitter.com/rE3FdgA4Yf
— Aaron Martinez (@AMartinezEPT) February 16, 2023
This is a developing story.
