Millipitus police were investigating a shooting at the Great Mall on Saturday evening, which called for mall stores to be licked-down, while law enforcement cracked down on the shopping center.
Police released a few details about the incident, but said on Twitter, “We have been very careful and asked all stores to move to shelters while officials continue to assess the situation.”
“Please stay away from this area and we will provide additional updates soon,” police said on Twitter at 20.20 pm, adding that the incident could draw a strong response from law enforcement and other first responders. By 7:30 p.m., police said they were “systematically searching all the stores that were in the shelter.” And employees and shopkeepers were taken outside the mall and into the parking lot.
It was not immediately clear if anyone was injured, or if anyone was taken into custody.
Video posted on social media It shows a group of people exiting the back door of the store as if taken from the mall. Suddenly, at the end of a long haul, a group of police officers will open a pair of double doors and ask the group to show their hands.
The group tells police there are about 40 people in the store. A police officer tells the group, “Go inside and kill yourself.”
The scene outside the shopping center was relatively quiet after 7pm, with about half a dozen people dotting on yellow crime-scene tape, cut from the parking lot of the Great Mall, watching police at the mall entrance next to a Starbucks and scrolling from there. Social media. A helicopter hovered in a semicircle outside the entrance to the mall. A line of patrol vehicles from the San Jose Police Department and the Santa Clara County Sheriff ran parallel to a mall, passing an Old Navy outlet and Dix Sporting Goods, all with lights flushing.
Customers filed outside the home depot around the parking lot, pushing wood and other items forward, slowing down their vehicles briefly to watch police activity.
By about 7:10, police had allowed small groups to leave the mall. A group of several dozen people, carrying lots of plastic shopping bags, turned in the direction of the exit. The other group can be seen laying their hands on their heads as they walk toward the exit, leaving them by their side as they cross the threshold.
They refused to speak to the media: “No, we are scared,” one person said.
The shootings usually came at the height of the busy holiday shopping season. But under the domestic order at the time of the regional stay in Santa Clara County, the retail capacity is as low as 20%, meaning there were almost fewer people in the mall who were around this time of year.
Officials could not be reached for comment Saturday evening.
Check back for updates.
Lure Ren Hernandez and Michael Williams are the authors of the San Francisco Chronicle Staff. Email: Lauren.Shernageજsfchronicle.com [email protected] Twitter: YByLHernandez
