Shooting at Wisconsin mall stemmed from fight, cops say

Investigators probing a shooting that wounded eight at a Wisconsin mall on Friday say they believe the shooting was sparked by a fight, the Wauwatosa Police Department says.

“Preliminary investigation has led us to believe that this shooting was not a random act, and was the result of an altercation,” the department said in a statement on Facebook.

Seven adults and a teenager were wounded in the shooting just before 3 p.m. on Friday, as CrimeOnline previously reported. The adults were taken to Froedtert Hospital, and the teen was taken to Children’s Wisconsin. Wauwatosa Mayor Dennis McBride said that none of the injuries were life-threatening.

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Wauwatosa police said Mayfair Mall would remain closed on Saturday while detectives continued their investigation, including collecting evidence and interviewing witnesses. Officers finished clearing and securing the facility Friday night.

Witnesses described the shooter as a white man in his 20s or 30s, Wauwatosa Police Chief Barry Weber told reporters Friday afternoon.

Employees and shoppers scrambled when the shots rang out. A food court employee told Fox 6 it was “terrifying” and “very scary.” Another woman said she’d “never experienced something like this.”

“We practice all the time at work for something like this happening, but for actually to be in the moment is a whole other thing,” she said.

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[Featured image: AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh]