Police said that one person was killed and three people were injured in a shooting at the Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso, Texas, on Wednesday evening.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been more than 70 mass shootings in the United States so far in 2023.
There is no longer a threat to the public, acting El Paso Police Chief Peter Pacillas stated during a news conference on Wednesday evening. Both suspects are male.
"It was chaotic. People did flee. They were scared," police Sgt. Robert Gomez said.
According to a CNN report, the University Medical Center of El Paso received two injured males in critical condition. Uncertain is the health of the third injured person, a male who, according to Gomez, was also hospitalized.
Many 911 calls reported an active shooter, prompting multiple law enforcement agencies, including El Paso police, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and the US Border Patrol, to go to the location, according to authorities.
The mall is just adjacent to a Walmart where a shooting in 2019 claimed 23 lives and injured almost two dozen others. As part of a plea agreement, the 24-year-old gunman pled guilty to 90 federal crimes last week.
Pacillas stated that an off-duty officer who was working security at one of the mall's businesses responded within minutes and arrested a suspect after the gunshot occurred around 5 p.m. local time on Wednesday. He did not specify when, where, or how the second individual was captured.
Later, the situation was secured and authorities worked through the night to empty the building and launch an initial investigation, according to police.
Gomez stated that investigators suspect the incident occurred near the mall's food court. The FBI has launched a website for anyone to contribute images and videos of the incident to aid in the investigation.
Brandon Chavez, 29, stated that he was working in the Buckle store across from the food court when the incident occurred on Wednesday. CNN reported that he assisted customers and employees in barricading the store and moved people to the stockroom while they waited to be allowed to exit.
Robert Gonzalez was also present in the shopping center on Wednesday and throughout the 2019 shooting. According to him, he "saw people running to the exit" on Wednesday, and footage he captured show several mall businesses locked with their security gates down and multiple law enforcement cars outside.
"I was working (at the mall) the last time this happened with the Walmart shooting so it just brought back bad memories," he said.
