BALTIMORE — A young man was killed in a shooting Thursday afternoon inside the food court at the Mall at Prince George’s, Hyattsville police said.
The shooting occurred about 4 p.m., police said. The man was pronounced dead in the food court. It was not a random act, according to authorities.
Police said the mall in the 3500 block of East-West Highway and surrounding area are secured.
Detectives are still seeking a suspect and motive in the fatal shooting, but police do not believe this was a “random act.”
People left their belongings in the mall when they fled after hearing gunfire. After the shooting, they waited outside of the mall to get back their belongings.
Some of them suffered minor injuries as a result of trying to escape from the mall, according to authorities.
Victoria Edusei from Ghana was one of them. Her shirt was bloodied from a cut on her face, which she got when other people trampled over her.
Law enforcement officers have obtained security footage from the mall and are looking for community assistance in gathering details surrounding the deadly shooting.
“I was just praying to Gond not to let me go this way,” she said.
Edsuei thought she had been left behind. But then one man stopped to help her.
“I was laying down. I couldn’t get up,” s he said. “So there was this young man who came up and said, ‘Ma’am, I’m not going to leave you . . . So, he held my hand.”
Prince George’s County homicide detectives are investigating the shooting.
There have been two homicide investigations at the Mall at Prince George’s in 2022, according to authorities.
Anyone with information is asked to call 1-866-411-TIPS.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.