State
police say a shooting Thursday night
inside American Dream in East Rutherford put the mall into lockdown for several
hours, according to state police.
The lockdown has been lifted and the
mall is scheduled to reopen today, but the search apparently continues for the
shooter or shooters.
The
shooting happened inside the mall around 6 p.m. with witnesses saying they
heard at least three shots fired.
News 12 understands
that one person was shot and rushed to the hospital with injuries that are
not life-threatening. Those inside were forced to shelter in place for
several hours.
Around 8 p.m.,
customers and employees started filing out as SWAT teams cleared one store
after another.
“We really
didn’t know anything,” says Best Buy employee Brian Hooten. “They just told us
to lock down and stay inside, keep everyone toward the back of the building
stay quiet.”
Customers
were locked down for two and a half hours before being escorted out by police. One
woman was separated from several of her children as they were in different
parts of the mall.
Police are
still looking for suspects, including the person who pulled the trigger.
There are no updates on a description or the victim.