Arrest made in Mall of America shooting, suspect still sought
Bloomington police say they have arrested a 19-year-old St. Paul man in connection with a shooting that injured two people at the Mall of America on New Year’s Eve.
Police said a SWAT team arrested the man in Roseville on Sunday. He was arrested for aiding and abetting first-degree assault but has not yet been charged.
Deputy police chief Kim Clauson said the suspect was not believed to have been the person that fired the shot that hit one man in the leg and grazed another man nearby in the shooting, just before 5 p.m. on the third floor of the Mall of America.
The gunfire sent shoppers, diners and revelers scrambling and prompted mall management to initiate a lockdown of the mall. The incident also canceled a planned New Year’s Eve celebration and prompted the mall to close for the night.
Clauson said the person arrested on Sunday was seen leaving the scene of the shooting with the suspect, but said investigators were still working on locating the suspect. Investigators also said the victim and the suspect were known to each other, and that they don’t believe the shooting was random.
The incident remains under investigation.
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