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3 Injured in Mall Shooting in Arizona, Officials Say 3 Injured in Mall Shooting in Arizona, Officials Say
(about 3 hours later)
A gunman opened fire on Wednesday night at a recently reopened shopping mall near Phoenix, leaving one person in critical condition and two others with injuries that were not life-threatening, the authorities said.A gunman opened fire on Wednesday night at a recently reopened shopping mall near Phoenix, leaving one person in critical condition and two others with injuries that were not life-threatening, the authorities said.
The police in Glendale, Ariz., said on Thursday that they had a suspect in custody, 20-year old Armando Hernandez Jr. The Police Department said officers were still investigating and gave no details about a possible motive. The police in Glendale, Ariz., said on Thursday that they had a suspect in custody, 20-year old Armando Hernandez Jr.
He faces charges that include aggravated assault, criminal damage and discharging a weapon in city limits, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office said. It was not immediately clear whether Mr. Hernandez had a lawyer. He faces felony charges that include aggravated assault, criminal damage and discharging a weapon in city limits, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office said. It was not immediately clear whether Mr. Hernandez had a lawyer.
The gunfire erupted just about 7:30 p.m. local time at the Westgate Entertainment District, where panicked shoppers and store employees rushed for cover. The large outdoor shopping center, which is about 10 miles outside Phoenix, had been closed under a stay-at-home order in Arizona and reopened on May 8. “Last night our community was attacked by a very senseless, senseless act of violence,” Mayor Jerry Weiers said at a news conference on Thursday. “As we begin to emerge from our homes and in our public spaces again, evil acts like this have a very, very fearful and paralyzing effect — that’s if we let them. I’m asking, please don’t give into fear.”
“When our first officers arrived on scene, there were no longer any reports of any active shooting from our dispatchers, who advised that those first officers arriving heard no further gunshots,” Police Officer Tiffany Ngalula of the Glendale Police Department told reporters Wednesday night. The gunfire erupted just about 7:25 p.m. local time at the Westgate Entertainment District, where panicked shoppers and store employees rushed for cover. The large outdoor shopping center, which is about 10 miles outside Phoenix, had been closed under a stay-at-home order in Arizona and reopened on May 8.
“We were able to locate that suspect in the Westgate area,” she added. “Our officers challenged that suspect and were able to safely take that person into custody.” Dispatchers were flooded with 911 calls, and officers reached the mall within five minutes of their receiving the first call, Sgt. Randy Stewart said at the news conference Thursday.
Cautioning that the information was “preliminary,” Officer Ngalula said that three victims had suffered gunshot wounds, and that one was “believed to be in critical condition” and taken to a hospital. On Thursday, the department updated those figures, saying that two people had injuries that were not life-threatening, and that one of them had been taken to the hospital. But in the chaotic minutes of the shooting, three people were wounded, one with a life-threatening injury. Sergeant Stewart said the victims included a 19-year-old man who remained in critical condition on Thursday morning, a 16-year-old girl with an injury that was not life-threatening, and a 30-year-old woman whose injury did not require hospitalization.
State Senator Martin Quezada wrote on Twitter that he had been at the shopping center when the shooting began. Before the shooting began, Sergeant Stewart said, the gunman had walked into the outdoor mall “and started scoping out the scene,” before returning to his vehicle to gather and load his weapon, a black assault rifle.
State Senator Martin Quezada wrote on Twitter that he was at the shopping center when the shooting began.
“I just witnessed an armed terrorist with an AR-15 shoot up Westgate,” Mr. Quezada wrote.“I just witnessed an armed terrorist with an AR-15 shoot up Westgate,” Mr. Quezada wrote.
Jose Miguel Santiago, a public safety spokesman for the city of Glendale, said he could not say what type of weapon was used in the shooting. One of the first officers to reach the mall “located the suspect immediately and was able to take him into custody without any further incident,” Sergeant Stewart said. “He did mention to the investigators that he gave up when he saw the officers responding.”
He said that the suspect later told detectives “that he was planning on going to Westgate to harm 10 victims with this horrendous act,” and that it was unclear why the number 10 was chosen. “He said that he went to Westgate to target victims,” the sergeant said. “He wanted to gain some respect and he felt that he had been bullied in his life.”
The sergeant also said that the police had identified the suspect as “being that person who was involved” in a video circulating on social media in which a man in a mask discussed plans to attack a mall.
Chief Chris Briggs of the Glendale Police said the police were able to take Mr. Hernandez into custody “in less than 10 minutes” after the first 911 call. ”Words cannot express the pride I have in all of my officers, they not only did their jobs last night, they did their jobs well,” he said.
Alan Yuhas contributed reporting.