Man Wounded In Sunvalley Mall Shooting Was Coming To Aid Of Robbery Victim
CONCORD (KPIX) -- A man who was coming to the aid of a robbery victim at Concord's Sunvalley Mall on New Year's Eve was wounded in a shooting that sent terrified shoppers scrambling for cover.
The mall went into lockdown as Concord police searched for the gunmen. Employees described a chaotic scene with shoppers running for cover after they heard a gunshot inside the shopping center around 3:45 Friday afternoon.
Michelle Brigham, said her daughter was working inside Sunvalley Mall when she hear the sound of gunfire. "She says 'I'm OK but we're hiding in the back of the store.' She goes 'we locked everything down but there was a shooting,'" Brigham told KPIX.
"We just heard a pop, like an automatic and me and my manager were staring at each other like 'what do we do?'" Jade Bell recalled.
Bell ran to the door and locked it until shoppers came knocking, begging for help.
"Then I opened the door and I was like 'Get in Get in! Get in!' and multiple people started flooding into our doors," Bell said.
Employees and shoppers hid until they got the all-clear from police. Officers from the Concord PD had to make sure there wasn't an active shooter inside the mall.
One man was taken to the hospital with a gunshot wound to his stomach but those inside the shopping center were happy no one else was hurt.
"Honestly I was shaken but I was calm and I was CPR-certified so I was making sure the children were OK," Bell said.
In the midst of chaos, there was calm as employees worked together to ensure shoppers were safe. For those waiting outside for their loved ones, there was much anxiety.
"She literally just walked out of the mall and I was just, like -- I just ran to my daughter. She's an adult but she's still my child and my heart sank," Michelle Brigham said.
Concord police are looking for the shooting suspects. They say the wounded man is in stable condition.