A D.C. man who pleaded guilty to firing a gun inside the Tysons Corner Center mall in Northern Virginia last summer was sentenced Friday to three years in prison, the mandatory minimum sentence for unlawful use of a firearm.
Noah Settles opened fire inside the crowded mall on June 18, 2022, over Father’s Day weekend. Scared shoppers ran for the exits and found place to hide, and the mall was temporarily shut down.
Steve Descano, the commonwealth’s attorney for Fairfax County, said the sentence held Settles accountable for what he did.
“Today, the justice system has shown that perpetrators of gun violence will be held accountable for their actions,” Descano said in a statement. “Firing a gun into a public space is a serious crime, one that endangered our community members and threatened their future sense of safety. In cases like these, it is the prosecutor’s job to ensure accountability and use the tools at our disposal to prevent this sort of dangerous incident from happening again.”
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Settles had faced up to 33 years in prison.
He delivered a lengthy apology at his sentencing on Friday.
“I apologize to everyone who was at the mall and feared for their safety,” he said.
Surveillance footage showed Settles, who was 22 at the time of the shooting, pointing a handgun in the mall as groups of people holding shopping bags walked by. No one was shot, but three people were taken to hospitals after they were injured as they ran in terror, police said.
Settles’ lawyer had said he was trying to defend himself from a gang member who also had a gun.
In a plea deal in February, he pleaded guilty to three counts of malicious discharge of a firearm in an occupied dwelling and one count of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. He entered Alford pleas, meaning he conceded there was enough evidence to convict him.
Settles has performed as a rapper under the name No Savage.
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As part of his sentence, he will be on probation for 10 years. He was ordered to never return to the mall.
Settles also pleaded guilty to three counts of malicious discharge of a firearm, but all that time is suspended.
Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.
