San Bruno mall shooting not random
2 teens hurt; armed groups were ‘associated,’ cops say
A shooting at a San Bruno shopping mall that forced the evacuation of hundreds and injured four, including two teens with gunshot wounds, was not a random act of violence, authorities said Wednesday.
Two groups of people got into a dispute just before 4 p.m. Tuesday on the second floor of the Shops at Tanforan, where a person from each group began shooting at each other with handguns, San Bruno police said in a statement.
Both victims with gunshot wounds were male teenagers, one of whom was shot in the abdomen, police said. The other victim sustained a gunshot wound to the leg, while two others were injured in the aftermath but declined to be taken to the hospital.
“The victims are believed to be associated with the groups engaged in the dispute that preceded the shooting,” police said.
Wednesday night, San Bruno police released a chilling video taken from a mall security camera that depicted the terror of the previous afternoon.
The brief clip showed a group of youths running on the second floor of the mall. One youth, wearing a dark shirt, is holding a gun and is identified with the caption “suspected shooter with gun.” He is seen to fire at another youth, who collapses onto the ground. A caption next to him says, “victim down.”
Several shoppers, including a woman with a child, see the unfolding horror and begin to flee in panic.
“We are still sorting through masses of evidence from yesterday’s shooting,” San Bruno police said in a statement accompanying the video.
Moments after the horrors depicted in the video, two Army staff sergeants and police officers provided first aid to the shooting victims, military officials said.
Staff Sgts. Isaiah Locklear and Michael Marl were inside an Army recruiting office when they heard the shots. Locklear dashed from the office, found one of the injured victims on the ground, and used his shirt to apply pressure to the young man’s abdominal wound to control bleeding. Marl assisted the shooting victim with the leg injury.
Mariel Young of South San Francisco, an Army recruit who was inside the office to discuss her upcoming basic training, also heard the shots and ran to the victims to help.
“Pop, pop, it sounded like a trash can falling over,” Young said. “I’ve never heard the sound of gunfire before.”
For their efforts, Locklear, Marl and Young were presented commendations on Wednesday from the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors at an impromptu ceremony in a Daly City park.
“While others were running away, they ran toward the victims,” said Supervisor David Canepa. “They were chivalrous and courageous.”
As of Wednesday afternoon, both shooting victims remained in serious condition but were expected to make a full recovery, police said.
The shooters may have fled on BART trains at the San Bruno Station, which is next to the mall, authorities said. Law enforcement closed the station and Oakland’s 12th Street Station, as police searched a stopped train car by car for suspects, transit officials said.
San Bruno police did not provide identifying details about the two shooters.
Tanforan shoppers and workers on Tuesday described moments of panic after hearing gunfire and seeing people running. Some shoppers said they were badly shaken after hearing loud shots.
Dozens of people who were watching the matinee of the new SpiderMan movie in the shopping center multiplex said they heard nothing, but had to evacuate the theater after the shooting.
Melina Ramirez was shopping at a clothing store on the second floor of the mall when she heard gunshots and ducked in panic.
“Out of nowhere I heard six shots. They were super loud,” she said, standing with dozens of others in the mall parking lot. “We all hid and police escorted us out the door.”
In the pandemonium, several people abandoned their possessions in the shopping center, police said. These personal belongings are now at the San Bruno Police Station, where they can be retrieved.
San Bruno Police Chief Ed Barberini said law enforcement and paramedics from neighboring jurisdictions swarmed to the scene to provide aid.