Shooting at the Mall of America: There were no initial reports of casualties.
Washington:
America’s largest mall went into lockdown on Thursday in what police described as an “active incident” with reports of shots showing scenes of chaos inside the sprawling campus in midwestern Minnesota.
Footage shared on social media – which could not be immediately substantiated – showed panicked shoppers running through the sprawling mall in Bloomington, which has more than 500 stores.
The mall tweeted on its official account saying, “Mall of America is currently in lockdown.”
The mall wrote, “Please stay at the nearest safe place till the lockdown is lifted.”
A video posted on Twitter shows a man shouting as he walks into a Nike store. After this there is the sound of several gunshots.
In a separate video, families pushing children in strollers are seen fleeing the mall in fear, clutching shopping bags, while security guards patrol the premises with guns.
A message can be heard on the loudspeaker, telling shoppers, “Note: Those who are not in a safe place at this time, seek shelter immediately.”
Bloomington Police tweeted that they are “currently working on an active incident inside the Mall of America” and that “multiple officers are at the scene.”
There were no initial reports of casualties.
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