New surveillance video shows how the Mall of America New Year's Eve shooting unfolded
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- Video obtained by WCCO shows the start of an encounter that led to a shooting at the Mall of America New Year's Eve, which left two people injured and prompted the mall to lock down.
The shooting happened around 5 p.m. in the north area on Level 3. Authorities said an officer in the mall heard gunfire and found a man on the floor in front of the Lotus Bed store with a gunshot wound to his leg. Not long after, another man was found with an injury that appeared to be a bullet graze.
In the security video, the shooter, then-18-year-old Kahlil Wiley, is seen on the escalator with his cousin and their girlfriends. Two men recognize the group and hop on the escalator below them.
According to case files, the two men started chasing Wiley, swerving around shoppers, before Wiley shoots one of the men, who is identified as19-year-old Malachai Iles.
In an interview afterward, Wiley told investigators he thought one of the men had a gun and admitted he shot him.
Wiley also told investigators Iles stole marijuana from him and had been recently sending threatening messages to him. In Iles' interview, he said Wiley had run over his foot after the robbery.
During the News Year's Eve shooting, a second bullet grazed an innocent bystander who said he was shopping at the mall with his wife and son.
"I grabbed my son and just started running," he told investigators in an interview.
"I feel a lot of sadness and empathy for the people who happened to be there at the time. I always worry about children, older people, anybody who gets caught in such a tragic situation," shopper Mary Chandler said Wednesday. She was visiting the Mall of America for the first time.
WCCO reached out to the Mall of America to find out if the mall has made safety chances since the shooting. A spokesperson declined to comment.
Wiley is currently serving a 45 month prison sentence for the shooting. Bloomington Police Chief Dr. Booker Hodges told WCCO the department meets with mall security monthly adding he feels comfortable taking his kids to the mall and wouldn't if he didn't think it wasn't safe.