Shoppers flee for their lives as one killed and three injured in a shooting at a mall in El Paso

One person was killed and three were injured in a shooting at a mall in El Paso on Wednesday night.

Two suspects were brought into custody and the public were no longer at threat, said interim El Paso Police Chief Peter Pacillas.

The shooting happened at Cielo Vista Mall at around 6pm. One suspect was arrested soon after the incident while police searched for the second, police spokesperson Sgt. Robert Gomez said.

Two male victims were taken to University Medical Center in critical condition, the hospital told CNN. A third victim was taken to the Del Sol Medical center and said to be in fair condition.  

Video uploaded to Twitter shows people running through the mall as police descended upon the scene. Police said there were indications that the shooting happened in the mall’s food court.

The Cielo Vista Mall is right next to a Walmart Supercenter where in 2019 23 people  were killed and a further 22 were injured. Patrick Crusius, now 24, opened fire with a rifle at the supermarket in August 2019.

Last week he plead guilty to the racially motivated killings, which were intended to ‘target Mexicans’.

One person was killed and three were injured in a shooting at a mall in El Paso on Wednesday night

The shooting happened at Cielo Vista Mall and two male victims were taken to University Medical Center of El Paso in critical condition, the hospital told CNN

‘Police are responding to shots fired in the food court of Cielo Vista Mall, scene still active. Avoid the area,’ tweeted El Paso police at 6.19pm.

In the hours after the shooting police said they were working to clear the mall. At 9.20pm they asked people to remain away from the area.

The incident at the El Paso mall on Wednesday was the 73rd mass shooting to have taken place in the US this year, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive. 

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he has been speaking with the mayor of El Paso.

‘I spoke to Mayor Leeser about the shooting tonight in El Paso,’ he said on Twitter. ‘I offered the full support of the State of Texas, including the assistance of the Texas Department of Public Safety and Texas Division of Emergency Management to help the city of El Paso respond to this tragic event.’ 

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