‘Pure pandemonium’: Cobb police investigating shooting at Cumberland Mall – Atlanta Journal Constitution, Ajc.com

                                                                                                                                                                        

Shots rang out inside Cumberland Mall on Saturday afternoon as frightened shoppers scrambled for cover, police said.

    

The shooting was the result of a verbal altercation that occurred between two people in the mall’s food court, said Cobb County police spokeswoman Officer Sarah O’Hara.

             

The gunman fled the scene after the shooting, and officers are still searching for him. One gunshot victim was rushed to the hospital, but the person’s condition is unknown.

             

A heavy police presence converged on the busy mall about 1: 823 p.m. as officers responded to 1205931813899821057 calls.

                              

“Yes, shots were fired. But not randomly, ”Cobb police wrote on Twitter. “Updated information indicates (the) involved parties know one another.”

    

A video posted online appears to show shoppers running through the food court as gunshots ring out.

                                                         

“It was pure pandemonium,” shopper Adrian Matthews told Channel 2 Action News at the scene. “People started running and knocked over pretty much the entire store. Candles, glass – It was crazy. ”

Matthews told the news station that terrified shoppers hid in a storage room at the back of Bath & Body Works until the shooting was over and they were allowed to leave.

                         

It’s unclear what led to the shooting, but O’Hara said multiple shoppers inside the mall experienced panic attacks as people rushed to get out.

A couple of pregnant women also asked to have their unborn babies examined, she said.

“When we first arrived, we wanted to make sure that the threat was eliminated,” O’Hara said. “After that, we started bringing in rescue teams to get the people who were experiencing medical issues. And then after that, we went through and started bringing everybody out that was barricaded inside the stores, closets and such. ”

A Cobb motorcycle officer en route to the mall was struck by another vehicle as he responded to the shooting, O’Hara said. He is being treated for minor injuries.

The mall remains closed as police investigate the shooting, but it is expected to reopen later this afternoon, authorities said. Drivers are encouraged to avoid the area for several hours.