Lockdown lifted at Mall of America following reported shooting

A lockdown has been lifted after a shooting occurred at the Mall of America in Minnesota on Friday evening. 

The Mall of America tweeted that police for the town of Bloomington, the suburb of Minneapolis and St. Paul where the mall is located, responded to a shooting contained in a tenant space just before 8 p.m. Central Standard Time (CST).

Bloomington Police tweeted at 8:17 p.m. CST that officers and emergency medical services were on scene of a reported shooting and that the mall was on lockdown.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Police warned people to stay away from the area and said that information would be released on Twitter as it became available. 

Mall of America’s Twitter account posted soon after that those inside should remain in the closest secure location until the lockdown was lifted. It later posted that the lockdown was being lifted, but guests should exit as the mall would remain closed for the evening. 

The police tweeted that the department is working with the mall’s security and the Hennepin County Crime Lab to process the area, which has been secured. 

The Mall of America is the largest shopping mall in the United States. The Associated Press reported that it bans guns on its premises but does not have metal detectors at its entrances. 

The mall was placed on lockdown in August after a shooting happened there. Police later arrested two men, but no one was killed or injured during the incident.