Attacker shot as mall shooting wounds 8
WAUWATOSA, Wis. — Police searched Friday evening for the attacker in a shooting at a suburban Milwaukee mall that left seven adults and a teenager injured.
Wauwatosa Police Chief Barry Weber gave no motive for the attack at the Mayfair Mall in a brief update about three hours after the 2: 50 p. m. incident near an entrance to a Macy’s store. He said the extent of the eight victims’ injuries was unclear, but all were alive. He added that the shooter was “no longer at the scene” when authorities arrived.
“Preliminary statements from witnesses indicate that the shooter is a white male in his 20s or 30s,” Weber told reporters. “Investigators are working on determining the identity of that suspect.”
The chief called the mall an active crime scene and asked people to continue to stay away.
Witnesses told WISNTV that they had heard what they believed to be eight to 12 gunshots. Some people remained in the mall while police searched for the suspect. The station interviewed several people outside the mall who said they had friends sheltered inside while the search was ongoing.
Jill Wooley was inside Macy’s with her 79yearold mother when they heard gunshots just outside the store entrance.
“We heard the first shot fired and knew immediately it was a gunshot,” Wooley told CBS58 in Milwaukee. “We both just dropped to the floor.”
Wooley said she didn’t see anyone but the shots were “very close.” They ran in the opposite direction to the basement of the store, where they then hid.
Trish Cox’s 19yearold nephew works at Finish Line sporting goods store. She said the store’s phone wasn’t being answered and was frantic as she waited while FBI agents cleared the mall.
An agent who declined to give his name said the mall was being “methodically” cleared. Heavily armed FBI personnel were visible at the scene.
The Mayfair Mall was the site of a February shooting in which a city police officer, Joseph Mensah, shot and killed Alvin Cole, a Black 17yearold. Police said Cole was fleeing from police; Mensah, who is also Black, said he shot Cole because Cole pointed a gun at him. The mall was the target of sporadic protests over several months in the wake of the shooting.
The Milwaukee County district attorney declined to file charges against Mensah, but the city this week agreed to a separation agreement in which Mensah will be paid at least $ 130,000 to leave the force.