Shoppers at Riverchase Galleria in Hoover were sent into lockdown Friday after witnesses reported a shooting inside the mall, with officers sweeping the building and no active threat identified at the time. Reports of the incident began coming in around 11:40 a.m.
The Riverchase Galleria is on lockdown after a shooting, according to witnesses there, as reported by WBRC. Hoover police said there was a large police presence at the Galleria and that, at that time, there was no active threat. A store manager told WBRC that a shooting had occurred at the mall and that officers were sweeping up and down the building, though the manager said there had been no update on whether anyone had actually been shot.
Conflicting Reports On Injuries
ABC News reported that an 8-year-old boy was shot and killed and three others were injured in the shooting, according to ABC News.
Per that same ABC News account, the three other injured included a juvenile girl, along with an adult man and an adult woman, according to Hoover police. The network reported that police responded to the scene near the food court after multiple 911 calls came in reporting shots fired. Those two versions of the casualty count have not been reconciled.
Police Say No Suspect Information Yet
Hoover Police Chief Clay Morris said no suspect information was available, the station notes. Hoover Police Department officials said they did not yet know what led to the shooting or how many gunmen may have been involved, per the ABC News report. The mall was evacuated, and police said they had secured the area.
Video circulating from inside the mall showed blood on the ground and a large police presence, according to WVTM 13. WBRC said it had reached out to police for more information and had a crew headed to the scene as the situation continued to develop Friday.
A Mall With A Troubled History
Friday's incident is not the first time gunfire has disrupted Riverchase Galleria. A separate shooting at the mall in 2025, one year before Friday's incident, left one person dead, according to ABC News. On Nov. 22, 2018, a shooting at the Galleria injured an 18-year-old and a 12-year-old and led to the fatal police shooting of 21-year-old Emantic “EJ” Fitzgerald Bradford, the outlet reported. Authorities later said Bradford did not fire his gun in that incident and that the suspected gunman was actually Erron Martez Dequan Brown, who was apprehended in Fairburn, Georgia, days later in connection with the attempted murder of 18-year-old Brian Xavier Wilson.
