VANCOUVER, Wash. — One person was killed and two were injured following a shooting at the Vancouver Mall in southwest Washington Thursday night.
Our sister station in Portland, KOIN, reported the mall was full of families and children who came there to trick-or-treat.
At 7:30 p.m., Vancouver Police were dispatched to the mall at 8700 Northeast Vancouver Mall Drive for a report of a shooting.
Vancouver Police said witnesses reported that someone in the food court area shot and killed one person and injured two others. Police arrived to find one person dead. Two others who were hurt were taken to a local hospital to be evaluated and treated.
Employees and customers were ordered to shelter in place as police and SWAT teams arrived.
About an hour later, police told people they could leave the mall.
Police confirmed in a press conference on Thursday night that the suspect was still on the loose. Detectives from the Vancouver Police Department Major Crime Team are reviewing videos from the mall in an effort to identify the suspect.
On Friday, police provided additional details about the suspect and the victims. The two victims who were injured were both adult men, 30 and 40 years of age, who suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were treated and released from the hospital. No additional injuries were reported.
The victim who died at the scene was also an adult man, but his exact age and identity have not yet been confirmed.
According to Vancouver PD, the suspect was wearing a Halloween-type mask at the time of the shooting. Detectives are still working to identify the suspect, adding, “Detectives believe the shooting was a targeted attack. The two individuals who were injured were not believed to be intended targets, but rather were just in close proximity to where the shooting occurred.”
Anyone with information is asked to call the VPD Tip Line at 360-487-7399.