A shooting inside a mall in New Jersey on Black Friday left one man wounded.
The shooting took place shortly after 8 p.m. at The Mills at Jersey Gardens in Elizabeth.
Mayor Chris Bollwage said that a man was shot in the wrist between the hallway of Tommy Hilfiger and Marshall’s.
“No suspect has been apprehended and the victim is not cooperating on identifying the suspect. Police are reviewing camera footage. The mall has been evacuated and all shoppers are out. No one is in danger at the moment,” he said in a statement.
He said the mall opened at 10 a.m. on Thanksgiving and was set to close at 10 p.m. on Friday. During that time, approximately 25,000 shoppers visited the mall.
#Breaking: Picture shared with #PIX11NEWS shows the victim shot in the wrist inside the #JerseyGardens Mall.#BreakingNews #news #BlackFriday #BlackFriday2018 pic.twitter.com/cZvV18sDv4
— Darren McQuade (@BreakinNewsBoy) November 24, 2018
Carli Disla, her boyfriend, and their 6-week-old daughter were in a Cohoes fashion store, getting ready to check out, when they noticed people running. “They were yelling, ‘Hide, everyone, hide! They are shooting!’” Disla, 22, told the Associated Press.
The couple ran to the back of the store with the baby and hid in the receiving area. The security gates at Cohoes were pulled down and its exits locked until police officers told people inside that everything was under control around 9 p.m. “It was a horrible experience and very traumatizing,” Disla said.
A Twitter user posted that she and her mother were dress shopping but before they could start, there was a gunshot and “a stampede of people started running towards us.”
The day after Thanksgiving is one of the most popular shopping days in the entire year, with a raft of deals across stores. People typically do at least some of their Christmas shopping on Black Friday. The National Retail Foundation estimated that 164 million people are going to go shopping from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday.
Stabbing in New York
On the same day, two men were stabbed at a mall in New York state following a fight, police officials said.
The stabbings happened on Friday afternoon around 4 p.m. after a fight broke out at Macy’s.
One had been stabbed in the back and one had been stabbed in the stomach, officers told Syracuse.com. They were both taken to Upstate University Hospital and expected to survive.
“Safety is our highest priority at Destiny USA. The isolated incident that took place inside of Macy’s is absolutely unacceptable and will not be tolerated. We are cooperating fully and actively participating with the Syracuse Police in the ongoing investigation,” the mall said in a statement sent to News 9.
“While this incident undermines the tireless efforts by our security team, community partners and local law enforcement agencies that make Destiny USA a year-round family-friendly destination, it only strengthens our resolve to remain vigilant and committed to providing a safe environment for our guests, employees, and tenants.”
No suspect was in custody and officers said there was no description of the suspect to circulate.
Anyone with information was urged to call the Syracuse Police Department’s criminal investigations division at 315-442-5222.