19-Year-Old Man Killed in Mall of America Shooting

A 19-year-old man is dead after a verbal altercation became violent in a Nordstrom branch at the Mall of America on Friday evening.

Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges said in a press conference late Friday evening that at approximately 7:50 p.m., an officer heard gunshots near Nordstrom at the mall. But when the officer went into the store, they found a man who had been shot multiple times.

The officer tried to perform life-saving measures on the victim but the man ultimately succumbed to his injuries, authorities said.

The Mall of America in Minnesota was put on lockdown after the shooting, the Bloomington Police Department said but was reopened a little over an hour later shortly after 9 p.m. Nordstrom's branch remained closed. 

After reviewing surveillance footage of the incident, authorities believe a verbal altercation began between two groups of people before it turned physical. During the conflict a man allegedly pulled out a gun and shot the 19-year-old, Hodges said.

It is believed that the entire altercation lasted about 30 seconds, authorities said.

Police are now in the process of identifying the suspects but no arrests have been made at this time, Hodges said.

The victim who died in the shooting has not yet been identified.

“The family here, I feel really bad for them,” Hodges said. “This is before Christmas, and now they’re having to bury one of their loved ones.”

Nordstrom will remain closed on Saturday but the Mall of America will open as usual.