A lot of questions remain tonight as Jacksonville police investigate a shooting outside the mall there over the weekend. Investigators say three people were shot outside the Jacksonville mall, and police are still looking for a suspect.
According to a news release over the weekend, the suspect was wearing a ski mask and approached the victims shortly after 8:00 pm. Investigators today found several more bullet shell casings in the mall parking lot near the Belk store. They would not say if those shells were related to the weekend incident.
That shooting happened Saturday evening behind the Jacksonville Mall. Today, Jacksonville police discovered more shell casings in the area.
News 12 called police after seeing one of the shell casings on the ground. Right now, investigators can’t confirm if these shells are related to the weekend shooting or not.
Meanwhile, we have been trying to get answers from Jacksonville police and mall management about security at the mall.
Police believe the shooting this weekend at the Jacksonville mall was an isolated incident, not random. We’re told 3 people were shot by a gunman wearing a ski mask, and none of the injuries are life-threatening.
Jacksonville police tell me they are stepping up patrols around the mall while they search for a suspect.
This is an isolated incident. We are going to make sure that we have additional patrols in the area just to make sure that everyone feels safe and is safe so I would say go on out there spend your money do your thing.
Officers arrived at the scene shortly after 8 p.m. Saturday and found two victims with non-life-threatening injuries. A third had already been taken to the hospital. One Jacksonville resident told us she saw shell casings nearby and shared this photo with us.
We called Jacksonville Police, who then found several more at the scene. It is still unclear whether it is related to Saturday’s shooting.
Walking cause we came out the back and we were walking around the corner and my sister noticed on the ground. She acts at a bullet casing. Bullet casing was just sitting there on the ground just laying on the ground anywhere my daughter could’ve just grabbed it.” says Jasmine Arroyo, Jacksonville Resident.
The suspect is still on the loose. People say they’re concerned about safety.
Safety is a big concern.
Police are still investigating, including whether the newly found shell casings are connected. We’ve also reached out to Jacksonville Mall management by phone this morning. We also stopped in the office when I arrived, and I’ve sent an email. We are still waiting to hear back.