Mall of America shooting leaves two injured

Dec. 31 (UPI) -- A shooting at the Mall of America left two people injured and the shopping center on a "short lockdown" Friday.

The shooting happened just before 5 p.m. local time when two men got into an argument and one of the men allegedly shot the other, BloomingtonPolice Deputy Chief Kim Clausen said during a press conference televised by KMSP.

The male victim suffered a gunshot wound to the leg and was transported by paramedics to a local hospital for treatment, Clausen said. A third man, believed to be a bystander, was "grazed by the gunshot" and was treated at the scene before he was released.

"This scene was contained very quickly. There were no other bystanders and no other individuals hurt," Clausen said.

Bloomington police have not recovered any weapons, Clausen said, and the name of the shooting suspect was not released.

"We are no longer looking for the suspect at the MOA," the department said in a tweet.

Clausen said that officers stationed at the mall heard a single shot fired on the third floor of the north side of the mall around 5 p.m. local time. Mall security was immediately notified and began the lockdown while officers started first aid on the male victim.

Police said that the scene was secure after a short lockdown, less than an hour later. The mall closed at 6 p.m., according to the New Year's Eve hours posted on the mall's website.

The mall prohibits guns within the mall, but patrons are not checked for weapons before entering, Clausen said.

Mall officials canceled an after-hours holiday event scheduled at the shopping center and said they will be issuing refunds to families who had purchased tickets.

"We are grateful that nobody was seriously injured this evening," said Dan Jasper, vice president of communications at Mall of America.

Jasper said that the mall practices lockdown measures each month, which helped in the incident Friday.

"One thing that Mall of America does do and has done for years now is we practice lockdown every single month," Jasper said. "We worked really closely with Bloomington Police to develop this program. It's something we take great pride in and it worked this evening again."