Durham’s Streets at Southpoint Mall is on lockdown after reports of gunfire Friday afternoon.
Durham Police Chief Patrice Andrews said at a press conference that the shooting occurred between two groups that knew each other. She confirmed there were three people shot, including a 10-year-old hit from a gunshot ricochet. Three people were also injured in the aftermath.
Durham councilmember-elect Leonardo Williams tweeted that one of those shot is in critical condition, while the other two have non-life threatening injuries.
As of 5:14 p.m. Friday, Durham police say there is "no further threat" at the mall, per Krueger.
One of the individuals from the two groups is being detained, Andrews said, while a "majority of them" fled. A weapon has been recovered at the scene, CBS17 reported. Police are still looking for more suspects.
Off-duty Durham police officers were at the mall when they heard gunfire at 3:23 p.m. Friday. The police found three people shot after investigating the gunfire, per Andrews.
ABC11’s Jonah Kaplan reported at 4:08 p.m. that the Durham Police Department was “actively evacuating” the mall. There was a "heavy police presence" at the mall at the time; CBS17 reported that at least nine Durham police cruisers were parked near the entrance of Macy's.
Junior Zella Hanson was near the food court with friends when the group heard a loud crash. "I thought something huge fell," she wrote in a message to The Chronicle.
Once people started screaming and running, the group fled the mall through Belk. Hanson says the group may have seen someone being loaded into an ambulance, but it was hard to see.
Per reports, people began running out of the mall starting at about 3:45 p.m., according to CBS17. Krueger reported that two young men saw a pregnant woman who had been "trampled" and another older woman bleeding from her head during what they described as a "stampede" to evacuate the mall.
Durham EMS treated gunshot wound patients as well as multiple others with injuries as a result of "quick exit," according to Krueger.
Southpoint Mall was also evacuated Oct. 24 after there were reports of gunfire. Police eventually said that there was no gunfire at the time, but rather just a loud noise. There were several minor injuries as people evacuated the mall following the noise.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Editor's note: This article was updated at 5:13 p.m. to reflect that Middleton told Sarah Krueger three people had been shot and that a person was in custody. He had previously told The N&O and WRAL that one person was shot and that there was no information available at the time about a suspect.
This article was also updated at 6:45 p.m. to reflect new reports that one individual who was shot was deemed to have critical injuries.
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Leah Boyd is a Pratt senior and a social chair of The Chronicle's 118th volume. She was previously editor-in-chief for Volume 117.
Nadia Bey, Trinity '23, was managing editor for The Chronicle's 117th volume and digital strategy director for Volume 118.