Posted on 11/04/2013 7:18:10 PM PST by Woodman
Reports: Shots fired at Garden State Plaza mall By LUKE FUNK, Senior Web Producer - bio
NEW JERSEY (MYFOXNY.COM) - There were unconfirmed reports of shots being fired at the Garden State Plaza mall in Paramus, N.J. on Monday night. It reportedly happened about 9:30 p.m.
Police had not confirmed any information but there were several reports on Twitter about a gunman opening fire inside the mall.
Law enforcement scanner traffic reported a male wearing body armor and a rifle in the mall. Witnesses report a large police presence at the mall.
The Hackensack tactical team was being deployed to the mall, according to police scanner traffic.
This image is just so foreign to me. NJ does not allow concealed carry, I suppose? I wouldn't feel safe somewhere that didn't make it relatively easy for people to protect themselves from vermin like this.
NorthJersey.com reported that witnesses said a man dressed in black and wearing a black helmet fired up to five shots at Garden State Plaza Mall in Paramus shortly after 9 p.m. as the mall was about to close.
Det. Rachel Morgan of the Paramus Police Department would not comment on whether shots had been fired inside the mall. She said several hundred officers were at the scene.
There were no immediate reports of injuries.
Jessica Stigliano, 21, of Richfield, told The Associated Press that she was sitting in the mall’s food court when she saw people running and yelling “shots were fired.”
Stigliano said she also began running. She said at the time she was thinking, “Not many people run for their life, but that’s what I’m doing right now.”
She did not see a shooter. “It was scary to think that you could be that close to something like that,” Stigliano said.
A manager at Chili’s at Garden State Plaza told the AP they were on lockdown and could not leave. She said a manager at Nordstrom ran over to use the phone saying there had been a shooting. She did not say if the Nordstrom manager witnessed it.
Althea Brown, 26, of Paterson told NorthJersey.com she was in a clothing store when she saw a man walk by and then heard three shots followed by two more. She said he appeared to be wearing body armor and was wearing a helmet with the visor pulled up.
Thanks, I wasn’t concerned with being the only thread. I just think yanking breaking news from “Breaking News” causes more confusion and duplicates. I have nothing to prove here and appreciate all information being presented.
With all those cops in one place, I gotta hope there is not a pet store selling puppies. The horror!
Shooter has left the mall. Did not shoot anyone. a single shell casing found. He has not been apprehended. It is no longer an active shooter scene.
Shell casing from a long rifle.
They lost him.
I thought it was in breaking news.Important and he escaped and is across the river from us.I posted it on facebook.
Latest report from police:
Gunman has left the mall
Single shot fired
No injuries
From me:
Very Strange
Wonder if it’s a test run to measure response?
The Cinnabon store is gonna get raided. That’s a given.
I know.Really scary.((((Hugs)))) Thank God this did not play out the way it might have.Now catch him.Local news is worthless.
You’ve got mail.
not me...2 facts jump out.....shots fired yet no one shot and that gains folk exitin asap...ie empty venue
2. a gazillion cops on scene and 3. they shot the security cameras.....bombs? a suck em in trap?
and then there is the body armor....why ?
wonder if anyone inside has talked or texted or whatever
@JessicaWCBSWLNY: Mayor LaBarbiera tells me no reported injuries and shooter may have left mall. Mall will be locked down for several more hours.
It’s a huge mall, over 300 stores and some 10,000 parking spaces.
I’m sure mall will be closed for quite a while and every lock in the place will be broken and need to be replaced before they can reopen.
a minute ago they have reports of shots fired outside in the back.
I asked myself those same questions. Wonder if the tall guy with armour was a distraction for another or if it was a probe...More swat guys going in.
Based on what I’ve seen so far, my bet is that there’s a loony-tune out there who had no intention of shooting anyone but is completely paranoid about security cameras in the mall and thinks they’re emitting rays that are penetrating his brain.
Is he wearing a “Patriot” button, like the LAX guy *supposedly* was? Strange coincidence that Rep McCaul (R-TX) had recently compared protecting a large airport (LAX) from that tragedy was like protecting a “large shopping mall”. He said, “It’s almost like an open shopping mall,” he said, “so very difficult to protect.”
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