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Beachwood Place Mall in Ohio has been placed on lockdown on Saturday afternoon, as confirmed by Beachwood police. According to an eyewitness on the scene, the shooting is believed to have taken place around 3:00 P.M.
What happened?
The mall had been placed on lockdown after news of some sort of disturbance came to light. Eventually, the mall had been evacuated and the stores are believed to be closed. Before the evacuation, people were originally told to wait in place during the incident.
Local police have confirmed that shots were fired and that an unidentified person is in their custody. Earlier police reports mentioned that a male person was acting with a knife, but later reports confirmed that there had been shots fired; at this time, it is unclear if the shots came from police or if they had been fired by the suspect.
Although the incident took place on St. Patrick’s Day, it is unclear if the holiday had anything directly to do with the incident.
What is being said about the incident?
The NE Ohio Scanner Twitter account has issued the following updates on the story:
“Beachwood: Disturbance, Beachwood Mall. Some sort of disturbance inside Beachwood Mall. Lyndhurst PD is assisting Beachwood. Sounds like a lot of activity near the food court.”
“Beachwood PD is saying situation is under control and are investigating. Discussion about a male who was running with a knife.”
UPDATE: The NE Ohio Scanner Twitter account suggested that police are still looking for a suspect at the mall:
“Beachwood: Disturbance, Beachwood Mall. Some sort of disturbance inside Beachwood Mall. Lyndhurst PD is assisting Beachwood. Sounds like a lot of activity near the food court.”
“Sounds like PD is still searching the mall for a suspect.”
At this time, police have not released an official statement about the incident.
UPDATE: News 5 Cleveland confirmed that the shooting was not a random incident and that at least one person had been hospitalized over the incident, adding that police have confirmed that the situation is now under control; according to their report, there had still been people inside the mall despite previous reports of evacuation and police will survey each store to ensure shoppers will be allowed to leave the area.