Florida mall evacuated after shooting incident

A shooting at a South Florida shopping mall that was sparked by a fight between two groups of people sent shoppers fleeing and left three persons injured Saturday afternoon, police and witnesses said.

Live aerial television news footage showed people scattering outside the Aventura Mall after the initial reports of gunfire.

Aventura Police said two groups of people had begun fighting before it escalated to gunfire.

Police said the three wounded were taken to hospitals but their injuries were not life-threatening.

Aventura Police later tweeted that authorities had “several suspects" in custody who were being questioned by detectives.

After the shooting, mall patrons and employees were led out of the shopping complex and officials announced the mall would not reopen until Sunday.

Oscar Alvarado, a worker at the mall, said the complex was bustling with a strong Mother's Day weekend crowd when the chaos erupted.

He said it wasn't the first shooting  at the mall that he’s experienced.

“This time I do have to say I could hear the screams from so far away. I could clearly hear the people were really, really worried and concerned,” he said. “They were yelling `shooter, shooter.' ”

Alvarado recorded video of two police officers moving down the mall walkway after the shooting with their guns drawn. And he described waiting for about an hour with coworkers before they could evacuate.

Luke Lockart, 22, said he heard screaming and things falling over because people were running into a store and knocking over mannequins.

“They were trying to hide anywhere they could because no one knew what was going on,” said Lockart, who works in real estate.

Aventura City Manager Ron Wasson told The Miami Herald that authorities were sweeping the complex afterward in case someone dropped a firearm.

In May 2020, two people were wounded and taken to a hospital after an argument led to a shooting inside the same mall.

Police said that shooting also followed an argument.