A suspect is in custody after reports that gunshots were fired inside the St. Charles Towne Center in Waldorf, Maryland, on Sunday, authorities said.
“Initial reports indicate a group of teens may have discharged a firearm inside the mall” between 4:10 and 4:20 p.m., the Charles County Sheriff’s Office said.
No injuries were reported and the mall remained closed Sunday, authorities said. There is no current threat to the public.
The teens appeared to have argued near the Sears. As things escalated, one person took out a gun and fired, shattering a storefront window and sending people running for cover.
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"Officers, when they arrived and secured the building, they went inside immediately because we thought we might have an active shooter situation. Thankfully that was not the case," a spokesperson for the sheriff's office, Diane Richardson, said.
Richardson went on to say that the argument spilled out into the common area of the mall, at which time one of the suspects pulled out a gun.
"The other person who was involved in the argument stopped the suspect from attempting to shoot him, but the suspect was still able to discharge one round," she said.
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An employee who worked at the food court said he heard two loud pops, and everyone started running away.
"I see police everywhere. Security is saying, ‘Go, go everybody. The mall is closed,'" Angel Tovar Aguilar said.
Richardson said based on information they gathered from multiple witnesses, authorities were able to track down three suspects and detain them nearby. The sheriff's office also said deputies confiscated a gun from a suspect.
The shooting comes one day after eight people were killed and at least seven were injured in a mass shooting at an outdoor outlet mall in suburban Dallas, Texas, according to local police officials. The gunman in that attack was killed.
When Charles County Commissioner Amanda Stewart first learned about the shooting in Waldorf, she feared the worst.
"Not at home, not here," she said. "It really makes you pause for a second and really pray that everyone is going to be OK.”
While law enforcement was quickly able to take control of the situation, what happened at St. Charles Towne Center is still unsettling for some.
"I've never [seen] something like that. I’m scared. Everybody scared now," Tovar Aguilar said.
