At least 1 person injured in Tacoma Mall shooting

Large police presence at Tacoma Mall after shooting

Deputies say at least one person was shot.

TACOMA, Wash. - At least one person has been injured during a shooting at the Tacoma Mall on Friday.

The shooting occurred around 7 p.m. while the mall was packed with Black Friday shoppers. It appears the gunfire originated at the food court.

Police said on Monday that it's believed the incident was between a group of two people who got into an argument. It was an isolated incident and not an active shooter situation, despite rumors on social media.

The Pierce County Sheriff's Department says at least one person was shot. They were taken to the hospital with serious injuries, according to Tacoma police.

All unaccompanied juveniles are being brought to the Tacoma Mall Transit Center in the 2100 block of S 48th Street to be picked up.

Stores were in lockdown and several people were sheltering in place, according to deputies.

Witnesses who had to shelter-in-place during Tacoma Mall shooting speak out

Two people who got locked in a store they were in as reports of gunfire made its way across the Tacoma Mall are speaking out about the ordeal.

"We heard a stampede running through the center of the mall and people trying to run in and the staff here in our store immediately went and locked the doors. While they did that, they had everybody in the store move to the back of the store and get low. Once they had everybody in the back of the store, they opened the back room and had everybody go in the backroom and offered us water and all of that, and got on the phone called the police," said Aury Moore, who was at the mall during the shooting and had to go into lockdown.

The shooter has still not been located.

Pierce County deputies, Tacoma Police, Washington State Patrol and Lakewood and Puyallup Police Departments have responded. In total, 87 officers from eight departments showed up.

Police have not indicated that the mall will be closed or have a delayed opening. They will be in contact with the mall and use social media to let shoppers know.

Mayor Victoria Woodards and Deputy Mayor Keith Blocker issued a joint statement on the shooting:

"We want to acknowledge the magnitude of this event that occurred this evening and thank our first responders for swiftly responding to the scene. We are grateful to our local law enforcement partners who responded to the call with us today. While there are not a lot of details available at this time, we believe this to be an isolated event and the Tacoma Police Department is hard at work, conducting a full investigation. Because the impacts of gun violence ripple out community wide, we continue to place high priority on public safety. As we learn more, we stand with everyone impacted by this event – we are stronger together."

This is a developing story.

FOX 13 News will have updates as they become available.

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