Teens Arrested After Gunfire At Kings Plaza Shopping Center Sends People Into Panic
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- At least one shot was fired at Kings Plaza Shopping Center in Brooklyn on Saturday evening, but police said it was "not an active shooter incident."
The NYPD said a shell casing was found inside the mall and a man with a gun was arrested nearby.
Late Saturday night, police said two 16-year-olds had been charged in the case.
Quentin Raymond, the suspected shooter, was charged with attempted assault, criminal use of a firearm, criminal possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment.
Jeremy Danaud was also charged with four counts of criminal possession of a weapon.
Kings Plaza security evacuated the plaza and the parking garage.
The FDNY said no one was shot, but one person suffered a minor injury.
Shoppers described the scene that unfolded around 6 p.m. to CBS2's Jessica Borg, saying people suddenly started running.
"It was pretty chaotic, pretty frantic," said Sade Abiadun, who was grabbing dinner at the mall when she heard gunfire. "I've lived in New York all my life. Whenever you hear, 'boom, boom' inside a building, it can't be firecrackers. You exit."
Huge crowds gathered outside as SWAT teams moved in. Many shoppers didn't even know why they were forced to evacuate.
"I heard over the loud speaker, 'evacuate the mall,'" a woman said.
"It's so shocking. I would never expect that to happen in the mall," another added.
The mall has had its fair share of chaos in recent years, Borg reported.
In 2014, a fight broke out on Christmas Day.
The year before, rowdy teens were scaring shoppers and employees. The mall even placed a temporary ban on unsupervised teens for a time.
At the time, the mall said it stepped up security by adding guards and NYPD officers to patrol.
Saturday's shooting came just eight days after the deadly shooting rampage at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital when former employee killed one doctor and wounded six others.
"It's actually very scary, and you know it's sad that things like this happen at times," a woman said.
The mall was closed following the incident. It's unclear when it will reopen.
