A shooting inside Magnolia Mall in Florence Friday night sent a 25-year-old man to the hospital and evacuated the mall, police say.
Major Carlos Raines with the Florence Police Department says a group of people got into a dispute at a store inside the mall at 8 pm.
When some other people tried to break up the fight, Raines says one person pulled out a pistol and fired two shots. A man was hit in the leg and taken to the hospital.
The mall was immediately evacuated. Florence police and mall security were inside the building when the shooting happened, officials told News13. There were reports that after the shots people were running through the mall to escape.
The incident happened when the victim was at the mall with his family, police said. The victim was watching a child on a ride in the center of the mall when he noticed other people in a dispute with his family.
The victim walked over to the two groups and tried to mediate the dispute, but he was shot after a man in the other group pulled out a gun and fired twice, police said.
Reports indicate that the mall has no surveillance cameras and police say they have no description of the suspect other than his race and gender.
The SC Highway Patrol and Florence County deputies also responded. Traffic was backed up on David McLeod Blvd as people tried to exit the area and as others tried to get to the mall to pick up loved ones.
A woman who was inside the mall at the time told News13 that the scene was chaotic.
“Everybody was running. Everybody was terrified. The whole vibe was terror,” a woman named Kirsten, who works in the mall, told News13 “I am pretty sure.. nobody has ever seen or heard anything like that before.”
Kirsten also said that the incident left her “shaking.”
“I was really scared. I was shaking the first five minutes I was locked inside another store while I was calling my parents… and everyone to let them know I was OK,” she said.
The woman said that a lack of surveillance cameras inside the mall continues to be a problem.
“I am also sad. I heard that someone was shot. It is an injustice because we have no cameras,” said Kirsten, who was reluctant to provide her last name.
“I felt enraged. Things like this have happened before… you would think you would use somebody else’s circumstances to save someone’s life… and it’s really upsetting that a place like the mall is an unsafe place,” she added, talking about the lack of cameras in the mall.
The Senior Marketing Director of Magnolia Mall issued this statement:
We thank the Florence Police Department for their immediate response to the incident that occurred at approximately 7:45pm Friday evening at Magnolia Mall. While details are still unfolding, we can confirm shots were fired as the result of an altercation between two parties, leaving one man injured. The victim has since been treated and released from the hospital and we wish him a smooth recovery.
We assure you that the safety of our shoppers and employees is our top priority and Magnolia Mall has a zero tolerance policy for any crime or form of disruption that may jeopardize the security of our patrons, tenants or employees.
We are fully cooperating with the Florence PD to assist in any way we can with their investigation. We ask that anyone who has any information regarding Friday evening‘s incident contact Florence Police Department at 843-665-3191.
Magnolia Mall will reopen Saturday morning, February 14th, at 10am as scheduled.