Two individuals were hospitalized following a shooting at Arlington's Parks Mall on Thursday evening that supposedly began with an altercation between two groups. Arlington police were quick to respond after the incident unfolded around 7:30 p.m. near the popular skating rink inside the mall. Both a man and a woman received non-life-threatening injuries from the gunfire and were swiftly transported to nearby hospitals for treatment, as reported by KENS 5.
UPDATE (9:20pm): It appears this incident occurred in the corridor near the ice skating rink.
— Arlington, TX Police (@ArlingtonPD) December 29, 2023
Two people were transported to an area hospital in unknown condition.
A primary sweep of the mall has been completed -- and officers are now conducting secondary sweeps. pic.twitter.com/sQGGDokMJf
As details of the shooting continue to surface, the Arlington Police Department has yet to apprehend the suspected shooter, who they believe to have fled the scene immediately after the incident. According to a press conference held by the department, they are currently reviewing security footage in collaboration with mall officials in an effort to rapidly track down the suspect. Witnesses posted videos capturing the aftermath on social media, while mall employees took refuge during the chaos, an AMC movie theatre staffer recalling the incident to WFAA stating, "Man, it was pretty scary."
A witness told CBS News Texas they saw a group attacking a man, during which one person produced a gun and discharged it into the air, escalating the fight into a shooting. The incident promptly caused an evacuation of the facility as authorities worked to secure the area. Despite the frightening event, the mall is expected to resume regular service hours the following day, leaving some, including an AMC employee, questioning the fate of their refunds.
In their coverage, CBS News Texas interviewed Camila Labastida, a 13-year-old girl who recounted the terrifying ordeal, saying, "We thought maybe it was a hockey stick breaking and we ran to the nearest store." Hiding in a storage room with her friends, they turned their phones off to maximize their safety—a stark contrast to the cheery holiday shopping one would expect at a mall days before New Year's Eve. "Just so many possibilities. So many what ifs in that situation. It was crazy," she described the tense moments. Labastida's anxious parents, upon hearing of the incident, rushed to the mall to ensure their daughter's safety.
While the investigation continues with the gunman at large, this is not the first occurrence of violence that the Parks Mall has encountered. After a large fight last year, the mall introduced a weekend curfew requiring underaged guests to be chaperoned by adults, attempting to bolster a safer environment. As reported by KENS 5, five juveniles were arrested in that instance, showing a pattern of disturbances that the establishment has grappled with in recent times.
