Mall of America gunfire: Suspected gunman, accomplice arrested
Two men sought in connection with the gunfire that scattered terrified shoppers last week inside Bloomington’s Mall of America have been arrested following a nationwide manhunt.
Alleged gunman Shamar Alon Lark, 21, and his alleged accomplice, Rashad Jamal May, 23, were taken into custody without incident in Chicago Thursday afternoon by an FBI-led fugitive task force after the pair got haircuts at a barber shop, Booker Hodges, the Bloomington police chief, told reporters.
They’re being booked into the Cook County jail in Chicago and will be scheduled for an extradition hearing, he added. Lark faces several felony counts, including second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon. May faces a felony count for allegedly aiding Lark’s escape.
“A week ago, we said you can’t shoot up the mall and expect to get away with it. You can’t commit these acts and enjoy the freedoms of a free society,” the chief said. “And you're getting haircuts. Haircuts,” he added incredulously. “Now, we've locked them up.”
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Authorities last week said two groups ended up in an altercation by the cashier at the mall’s West Market Nike store. One group left, but then two people police later identified as Lark and May returned and Lark allegedly fired three shots from a handgun into the store.
Authorities said no one was hit but the shots sent shoppers into a panic and led to the lockdown.
Charging documents say Lark and May were aided by three friends to escape, in part, by using a shuttle from a nearby hotel. Those three been charged with aiding Lark’s and May’s escape from the mall.
Via KARE 11: Booker Hodges, Bloomington’s police chief, briefs reporters on the arrests of the alleged Mall of America gunman and his alleged accomplice: