One dead and one injured in shooting at Paddock Mall in Ocala – WESH 2 Orlando

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One dead and one injured in shooting at Paddock Mall in Ocala

Good evening everyone. I’m uh Chief Mike B of the Ocala Police Department. Uh This afternoon at about 3:40 p.m. the Ocala Police Department received *** call in reference to multiple shots fired here at the uh the Paddock Mall on State Road 200. We responded to that call that came in as an active shooter. We responded with *** heavy police presence. Officers immediately made entry into the mall, ultimately discovered that this was not what we would consider an active shooter. There was *** shooting that took place inside the mall that we believe was possibly *** targeted act of violence. At this point in time, we have confirmed one adult male has passed away from gunshot wounds inside the mall in *** common area. We have *** secondary victim uh with *** gunshot to her leg. She is being treated at *** local hospital and it’s expected to survive uh uh those injuries. Uh We know for *** fact that our shooter was *** black male dressed in *** black uh black pants. He had *** black mask, partially covering his face. He fled them all. Uh uh uh being uh um right now we’re searching for him. We’re in the process of doing secondary sweeps of them all to make sure everybody that might have done some sheltering in place or evacuated safely. And this investigation continues right now, we’re being assisted right now by the sheriff’s office here in Marion County. I’ve got undersheriff Robert Douglas with us. The Ocala Fire Department is here with us. Florida Highway Control responded as well and the mayor is here with us to assist as needed. That’s about all the facts that I’m release right now. I’ll be happy to try to answer some questions. I’m not going to release *** whole lot of information aside from what I’ve already told you all, but I’m happy to take questions. Any information, I believe that the victim that passed away was the target. That is what we believe at this time. And I can also say that we have recovered the firearm that we believe used that was left behind here at the scene. So the question was, were there any other injuries or were we have again, one deceased from *** gunshot wound? One woman that suffered *** gunshot wound to her leg. We have some ancillary injuries. We had some chest pains. We have *** broken arm being treated at the hospital as well. Were members of the community we did. Obviously, it’s *** shopping season, right? There were *** lot of people inside the mall at the time that this happened. *** lot of them tried to render aid where they could and helped out given and things like that to our officers trying to help apprehend the. It’s the worst, the worst thing we can imagine right now at this time of the year, right now, somebody has suffered *** loss in their family. It’s *** horrible time of year for this to happen ever. Especially sad during the holidays, what I will say, our hearts and prayers go out to the folks that had to witness this to the families of the survivors out there. The young man that lost his life tonight, I would ask this in closing. There’s *** lot of people here shopping at the ball which means there’s *** lot of witnesses that potentially help us bring this case to *** successful resolution. Those people are out there right now with that information, please come forward. Don’t be shy. We need you to call us 369 7000 or you can call crime stoppers. Give us that information confidentially and help us get this person off the street quickly you mentioned, got away undetected. Do you know how Rand drove? Yeah. Well, I don’t want to go into details about how he fled, but safe to assume that we know for *** fact that he fled the mall on foot and I don’t want to say much more about that. Well, I know now what does the area around the mall is going to be locked down probably for the next at least 12 hours while we wrap up our investigation. We’ve got *** lot of evidence process that we’ve got *** lot of work to do here at the scene. We would ask anybody out there that might be listening to avoid this whole area. Avoid State Road 200 anywhere around the Paddock Mall. Give us time to do our job. Thank you. Thank you.

One dead and one injured in shooting at Paddock Mall in Ocala

The Ocala Police Department is investigating a deadly shooting that occurred at the Paddock Mall Saturday afternoon.Police said shots were reportedly fired at about 3:40 p.m. inside the mall located at 3100 SW College Road in Ocala. Police believe it was a targeted shooting. One man died from gunshot wounds and one woman suffered a gunshot wound to her leg. She is expected to survive her injuries.Police said the suspect fled the scene and is believed to be a Black male who was wearing a black hoodie, black pants and a black mask over his face at the time of the shooting. Ocala police are being assisted in their search for the suspect by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and Florida Highway Patrol.Police said they recovered a firearm at the scene and believe it was used in the shooting.Police said several other people suffered minor injuries in the aftermath of the shooting, but nobody else was shotShannon Oliver was at the mall with her mother and sister when she heard shots fired. “I froze and just looked at them for a second, and they’re like, what? And then I heard three more, and I was like, go to the back now,” she said. “Everybody was running and pushing and shoving. We went out the back door and then we all went to the end of the parking lot. In the process my mom did get hurt, but she is okay.” A police presence remains at the mall after it was evacuated and after the shooting Saturday. The mall is still closed, but the parking lot has opened for those that may need to retrieve their vehicles, as of 8:13 p.m.Police are talking with witnesses and working to find the suspect. Anyone with information is asked to call the Ocala police at 352-369-7000.

The Ocala Police Department is investigating a deadly shooting that occurred at the Paddock Mall Saturday afternoon.

Police said shots were reportedly fired at about 3:40 p.m. inside the mall located at 3100 SW College Road in Ocala. Police believe it was a targeted shooting. One man died from gunshot wounds and one woman suffered a gunshot wound to her leg. She is expected to survive her injuries.

Police said the suspect fled the scene and is believed to be a Black male who was wearing a black hoodie, black pants and a black mask over his face at the time of the shooting. Ocala police are being assisted in their search for the suspect by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and Florida Highway Patrol.

Police said they recovered a firearm at the scene and believe it was used in the shooting.

Police said several other people suffered minor injuries in the aftermath of the shooting, but nobody else was shot

Shannon Oliver was at the mall with her mother and sister when she heard shots fired.

“I froze and just looked at them for a second, and they’re like, what? And then I heard three more, and I was like, go to the back now,” she said. “Everybody was running and pushing and shoving. We went out the back door and then we all went to the end of the parking lot. In the process my mom did get hurt, but she is okay.”

A police presence remains at the mall after it was evacuated and after the shooting Saturday. The mall is still closed, but the parking lot has opened for those that may need to retrieve their vehicles, as of 8:13 p.m.

Police are talking with witnesses and working to find the suspect. Anyone with information is asked to call the Ocala police at 352-369-7000.

 

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