Five people were injured in a shooting on Tuesday at a mall in Waterbury, Connecticut, according to local officials.
The shooting took place at the Brass Mill Center, and police are reportedly still looking for the suspect.
There is no immediate threat to the public, according to police.
“We do not believe this was a random act of violence, “ Chief Fernando Spagnolo of the Waterbury Police Department said during a press briefing on Tuesday. “We believe this started as a conflict and escalated.”
There were no immediate fatalities, he said, though multiple people were taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds.
Police were dispatched to the mall at about 4:40pm.
“We are working in the mall now with our law enforcement partners from all the federal agencies, the state police, conducting this investigation,” Spagnolo noted in a previous press conference.
The chief said investigators are going “store-by-store” looking for evidence, and believe the shooter used a semi-automatic pistol.
“We urge the public to avoid the area to allow emergency personnel to respond effectively and ensure everyone's safety,” Waterbury police said in a statement on Facebook.
State police are assisting in the response to the shooting, though local police continued to lead the investigation, the Connecticut State Police told The Independent.
The Independent has contacted the Waterbury Police Department for additional comment, as well as the Brass Mill Center.
Police cars and other emergency vehicles were seen massing in the parking lot outside the shopping center.
Officers were seen entering the mall with long guns and K-9 units, bystanders said, as small groups of shoppers were allowed to exit the shopping center.
“They were trying to find a person who was in the JCPenney [department store], and it was like four victims. Then there was a little girl, a little girl got shot, and she was losing a lot of blood. It was crazy and I tried to tell everybody to get out of there,” eyewitness Jayvon Turner told WFSB. “It was really emotional and crazy.”
A bystander told ctpost they heard dozens of gunshots from the first floor of the mall.
A man whose son was working in the mall at the time of the shooting said he described one of the victims as a woman who was screaming for help.
No active duty police officers were present in the mall at the time of the shooting, though mall security officials were present.
