Teen killed in shooting at El Paso mall; suspect arrested after being shot, wounded by bystander, police say
A teen boy was killed and two others wounded in a shooting Wednesday evening at a mall in El Paso, Texas, that stemmed from a confrontation between two groups, authorities said. A 16-year-old suspect was arrested after he was shot and wounded by an armed bystander, police later disclosed.
The shooting was reported at 5:05 p.m. local time in the Cielo Vista Mall, Interim El Paso Police Chief Peter Pacillas said in a late Wednesday night news conference.
During a physical fight between two groups near the mall's food court, a 16-year-old boy produced a gun and opened fire. A 17-year-old boy was killed, and two others, ages 17 and 20, were wounded, El Paso police said in a news release Friday. The deceased victim was identified as Angeles Zaragoza.
Following the shooting, the 16-year-old suspect began to run, and was "pointing the gun towards the direction of bystanders," which included 32-year-old Emanuel Duran, police said. As the suspect ran towards Duran and the bystanders, Duran drew his handgun and shot the suspect, police said.
An off-duty El Paso police officer who was working security at the mall at the time responded and rendered aid to the suspect and the other injured victims, police said.
"We had off-duty officers working at the local establishment within the mall, and were on scene at 5:08 p.m., within three minutes," Pacillas said Wednesday, adding that the off-duty officer arrested the suspect without firing a weapon.
Duran was legally licensed to carry a firearm, police said.
The 16-year-old suspect and the two injured male victims were taken to local hospitals. Charges are pending against the suspect, who at last report was in stable condition, police said Friday. His name has not been released because of his age.
Multiple agencies responded to the shooting, including the FBI, Texas Department of Public Safety, the El Paso County Sheriff's Office and U.S. Border Patrol. The FBI was assisting El Paso police with its investigation, Pacillas said. Jeffrey Downey, special agent in charge of the FBI El Paso Field Office, praised the off-duty officer who arrested the first suspect.
"A great deal of credit needs to go out to the off-duty officer that was at the mall this evening, and was able to get one of these individuals in custody in a very quick amount of time," Downey said.
The shooting comes exactly a week after the 24-year-old gunman in the 2019 mass shooting at a nearby Walmart — in which 23 people were killed by a man deliberately targeting Hispanic people — pleaded guilty to federal hate crime and firearms charges. That Walmart is located across the street from the Cielo Vista Mall.
The gunman, Patrick Crusius, agreed as part of a plea deal to accept 90 consecutive life sentences, one for each count in the indictment.