At least 3 people shot at mall near Pittsburgh
MONROEVILLE, Pa. -- Three people were shot at a shopping center near Pittsburgh on Saturday night and were taken to a hospital, and the mall and the hospital's emergency room were placed on lockdown.
CBS Pittsburgh reported the shots rang out inside the Macy's at Monroeville Mall around 8:30 p.m. So far, no suspects have been arrested but police said they had promising leads.
The three victims, two men and a woman, were taken to Forbes Hospital with gunshot wounds, hospital spokesman Jesse Miller said. A source told CBS Pittsburgh two of the victims are in critical condition and the third is in serious conditions.
Detectives told the hospital to lock down its emergency room until they were certain the shooter or shooters had been captured, Miller said.
According to a CBS Pittsburgh police source, the gunfire was the result of a gang fight and there were multiple shooters. Several police departments responded to the mall, including Monroeville Police, Allegheny County Police and Port Authority Police.
Police and FBI agents were going door-to-door at shops at the mall looking for suspects.
"We just heard people screaming," witness Athena Coffey of Churchill told CBS Pittsburgh. "And the next thing you see is a bunch of people, teenagers, scared to death, just exodus en masse in a way you could not believe. I grabbed my children, husband, we started screaming 'go, go, go!'"
"I was at Pittsburgh Popcorn making a purchase," Pamela Nichols said. "And shots rang out. People started running. And I just ran with the store employees to the back of the room and took cover."
In late December, hundreds of teenagers gathered at the mall and several fights broke out. The fights caused local officials and mall administration to agree on a plan to increase security there.
Weapons are banned at the mall, whose code of conduct specifically prohibits "Carrying or displaying weapons of any kind except those carried by certified law enforcement officers in the performance of their duties."