A man died in a shooting at a shopping mall in the US state of Florida two days before Christmas, in which the victim was apparently “targeted” for the attack.
“One adult male was found deceased in a common area, and one woman was taken to the hospital and is being treated for non-life-threatening injuries. We believe the shooter fled the area and is at large. We also believe this shooting may have been targeted,” Ocala Police said in a post on X.
This afternoon at around 3:40 p.m., OPD received a call in regarding a shooting at the Paddock mall with multiple shots fired. pic.twitter.com/byYiP4VNIR— Ocala Police (@ocalapd) December 23, 2023
Ocala Police Chief Mike Balken told reporters that the man was killed after he was shot multiple times in a common area at Paddock Mall in Ocala, located about 80 miles northwest of Orlando. A woman was shot in the leg, police said Saturday evening.
The suspect fled the scene and left behind the firearm, Balken said. Police arrived at the mall around 3:40 p.m. after a call of multiple shots being fired at the mall. “Officers immediately made entry into the mall (and) ultimately discovered that this was not what we would consider an active shooter,” Balken told reporters.
Several other mall patrons also suffered injuries during the shooting, with one person having chest pain and another reporting a broken arm, police said. An email inquiry was sent to the mall’s owner, WPG.
This incident comes as gun violence deaths in the United States topped 42,000 this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. American communities across the country seek solutions as state-level firearm regulations face legal setbacks in California, New York, Maryland, and beyond.
(With agency inputs)
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