Police: 2 dead, 4 hurt in Idaho mall shooting
BOISE, Idaho — A suspect is in custody after two people were killed and four injured — including a police officer — in a shooting at a shopping mall Monday in Boise, Idaho, police said.
At a news conference, authorities said officers exchanged gunfire with the suspect. The majority of the mall has been cleared, but police were still looking for any additional victims. Police didn’t release any other information about the victims or the suspect, saying the investigation was ongoing.
Boise Police Chief Ryan Lee said the shooting was reported to law enforcement about 1:50 p.m. Monday — including a report that one person was “shot and down” at that time. When the officers arrived, they spotted someone who matched the description of the suspect.
“There was an exchange of gunfire that ensued shortly thereafter, resulting in the officer’s injury, as well as the suspect being taken into custody,” Chief Lee said.
“We really cannot at this time speak to any motivation behind it,” Chief Lee said, calling any speculation premature.
“I cannot stress enough how traumatic this event is for the community at large, as well as for those that were witnesses, or are the families of those involved or involved themselves,” Chief Lee said.
After the shooting, several witnesses stood in the rain outside the entrance to Macy’s — one of five large department stores at the mall — waiting to be interviewed by police or told they could leave. Patrol cars from several agencies, ambulances and fire trucks filled a section of the mall parking lot. Officers from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were assisting in the investigation.
About a quarter of a mile away, officers closed part of a road near a busy intersection so they could investigate a second crime scene related to the shooting incident. Officers at the second crime scene declined to answer questions about the investigation other than to confirm it was related to the shooting investigation.
Cheri Gypin, of Boise, was in the mall with a friend where they walk for an hour three or four times a week. She said she heard several large bangs, but thought something had fallen from the ceiling. Then about 60 people, including families pushing strollers, came running at them, some of them shouting that there was an active shooter.
“My friend was trying to process it,” said Ms. Gypin, 60. “I just looked at her and said, ‘We’ve got to run.’ So we just ran and kept running until we got to the outer perimeter of the parking lot.”
They made their way back to their car, where police told the crowd of people who had fled the mall to leave the parking area.