Authorities in Northern California launched an intensive manhunt after a shooting inside a crowded seasonal costume shop left one person dead and six others wounded on Friday night, police said.
The gunfire erupted around 8:30 p.m. local time inside a Spirit Halloween location operating at the Solano Town Center mall in Fairfield, California, according to the Fairfield Police Department. The pop-up shop, which was occupying space once used by a Best Buy, was filled with last-minute shoppers ahead of the holiday.
Chaos inside the shopping center
Fairfield Police Chief Dan Marshall told reporters during a news conference that one person died at the scene and six victims were transported to area hospitals. At least three of those injured remained in critical condition, Marshall said. Authorities did not immediately release the names or ages of any of the victims.
Shoppers rushed toward mall exits and parking lots as the shots echoed through the retail space. David Bernal told television station KCRA that his wife had been inside the store shopping when the gunfire started. She managed to escape out an emergency exit alongside several other patrons.
Bernal said his wife recalled hearing five to seven loud bangs before people began shouting and fleeing in panic. Another witness told the Vacaville Reporter that a worker from the Spirit Halloween shop dashed into a nearby Chipotle restaurant shouting that someone had entered and opened fire.
Manhunt and federal response
Specialized police units and SWAT teams deployed throughout the roughly 130-store shopping center to sweep the building and check whether an armed suspect was hiding inside. The California Highway Patrol assisted with perimeter traffic control and structure searches, while Suisun City police provided mutual aid to treat victims and track the assailant.
The search also extended into the mall’s Regal Edwards movie theater. Caitlin Fry told CBS Sacramento that a SWAT officer armed with a heavy flashlight entered a theater screening the horror movie “Halloween” toward the end of the film to ask audience members if they had seen anyone with a firearm.
Detectives have not released a description of the suspect, and police said they have not determined whether more than one shooter was involved. Investigators have also not established a motive for the attack.
The FBI Sacramento field office announced that it dispatched its Evidence Response Team to assist local detectives with the investigation at the Gateway Boulevard mall.
Unrelated Michigan incident
The tragedy in Fairfield occurred only hours after another fatal shooting took place inside a Spirit Halloween store across the country. In Madison Heights, Michigan, a 21-year-old Detroit resident was shot multiple times shortly after 2 p.m. and later died at a local hospital, the Madison Heights Police Department said.
Bystanders in that incident tackled the suspected gunman, also 21, leaving him with non-life-threatening injuries before officers took him into custody. Authorities stated that the shootings in California and Michigan do not appear to be connected in any way.
Investigators in Fairfield have asked anyone who witnessed the mall shooting or has relevant video to contact the police department’s tip lines as the search for the shooter continues.
