One person was shot and another taken into custody after a robbery went awry at Long Island's Roosevelt Field Mall, reports indicate. Police were called to the scene sometime after 1 p.m. following reports of shots being fired in the Rolex section of the Tourneau store, which is located on the mall's main level across from Macy's, according to the New York Daily News.
The shooting caused pandemonium throughout the Garden City, N.Y., mall, with fears of terrorism playing a likely part, prompting holiday shoppers and workers to hide for cover while others ran all the way outside the mall, warning other people about a gunman as they left.
Reports say the suspect entered the store with intent to rob it. Sometime after, he tried to leave, but was confronted by store security, reported NBC New York. A scuffle ensued and a single round was discharged from the suspect's gun, hitting a man in the back who was standing outside the store's doors.
The suspect was subdued and later taken into custody by police. In the meantime, the victim, identified as a 67-year-old mall employee, was rushed to the hospital in serious but stable condition.
This account was later confirmed by acting Commissioner of the Nassau County Police Department Thomas C. Krumpter: "We have one individual shot. We have one subject in custody."
A lockdown was issued for various schools in the area as a precaution while the situation unfolded, according to the New York Post.
The mall was under high a state of security, but never in lockdown. Roughly an hour after the event unfolded, the mall was declared safe and open for business.
