One person was injured late Monday afternoon in a shooting inside the University Mall, according to South Burlington Police Chief Shawn Burke.
During a media briefing outside the U-Mall that night, Burke described the incident as a “dispute that escalated to gunshots.”
According to police, the alleged shooter or shooters left the South Burlington building immediately after the incident and remain at large. No suspects have been identified.
“Soon after the firearm was discharged in the mall, those combatants fled in an unknown direction,” Burke said. “Right now we’re going through the process of methodically going through the mall looking for anyone that may have been injured or any other suspects.”
The injured party was brought to the University of Vermont Medical Center with what Burke described as a “non-serious gunshot wound,” which he said was “presumably shrapnel.”
Burke said it was not immediately clear whether the shooter or shooters targeted the victim or whether the injured person was “even involved” in the apparent dispute.
Police were first called to the scene around 5:15 p.m. to respond to the incident. Responding officers from half a dozen state and local law enforcement agencies closed off all entrances to the U-Mall parking lot, blocking cars from entering as the building was evacuated.
Around 6:30 Monday night, Burke said only employees remained in the building. He said law enforcement officials were working with mall management to “ensure their welfare.”
More than a dozen fire trucks, police cars and other emergency vehicles were scattered across the sprawling parking lot in the hours after the shooting. Only emergency responders and media remained on the scene. Customers who attempted to shop at the mall were turned away by police on Dorset Street.
The shooting happened in one of the busiest corridors of the mall, near the GameStop store, Burke said. He emphasized that it was not an act of “indiscriminate violence,” but rather a specific dispute that escalated.
Immediately after the shooting occured, according to Burke, mall patrons sheltered in place, until it was safe to evacuate.
“I think unfortunately that’s the world we live in that people generally shelter in place when these things erupt. That’s what happened now, and that’s what the mall helped us facilitate,” he said.
Burke said there was “a lot” of security camera footage that would help police gain more information about the incident. So far, he said, they do not have a number of suspects or a description of anyone involved. Additionally, it is still unclear how many shots were fired.
“The investigation is still active,” Burke said. “It’s in its infancy.”
