1 dead, 2 injured in shooting at Vancouver Mall, suspect outstanding, police say

VANCOUVER, Wash. (KATU)— One person was killed and two others were wounded in a shooting at Vancouver Mall on Thursday night, and the shooter was still on the loose, Vancouver police said.

Kim Kapp, spokesperson for the Vancouver Police Department, said the first 911 calls came in at around 7:30 pm Callers reported that one person had shot another person in the food court and had fired several times, with the bullets hitting two other people.

The wounded people were taken to the hospital. Kapp said their conditions weren’t currently known.

When officers arrived, they found the dead person and the wounded people in the food court.

Kapp said detectives were reviewing video that was taken inside the mall to identify the suspect or suspects.

She said it wasn’t known what motivated the shooter or if that person was targeting someone. She said police assume that the person is still armed.

Kapp said there was no longer an active threat inside the mall and officers were in the process of clearing it as of 10 pm She said they were about halfway through and likely would not finish clearing the mall for another hour.

When the shooting happened, she said people inside the mall sheltered in place, which was the right thing to do.

The shooting happened Halloween night, and Brianne Stoner was trick-or-treating inside the mall with family when the shooting happened. She, her family and some friends were taking a break near Euphoria Body Piercing & Tattoo when she said they heard five or six shots.

“I kinda froze for a moment, thinking, ‘There’s no way. No way,'” Stoner said.

She said several people ran toward them.

“A lot of terrified mothers pulling their children along, and all I could think was, ‘We need to run now, because I don’t know where they are, they haven’t seen us yet, we need to get out, we need to hide.'”

They ran to a nearby apartment complex and called family to tell them they were OK.

Vladdy Mrushenko was with friends when they heard the shots while eating at a Panda Express. He said he was so frightened that he jumped from the second floor to the first to escape.

“I had too much adrenaline in me. My heart was beating like crazy. I was like, ‘F this, I’m jumpin,'” he said.

Police said there is reunification area outside the Hobby Lobby for those who were separated from others. Anyone still inside the mall was free to leave through any open exit, police said.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the Vancouver police tip line at 360-487-7399.

Steve Benham reported from Portland, Oregon.