BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – Sixteen Bloomington police officers were on duty at the sprawling Mall of America when a fight broke out at the Nordstrom department store. One officer was at the watches of Switzerland shop, only steps away from the from the first-floor Nordstrom entrance. He heard a shot and was there immediately – even as Christmas shoppers by the dozen were scattering for cover. The commotion lasted only seconds. The officer tried life-saving measures but was unable to save the victim. He then tended to a woman bystander whose jacket grazed by a bullet.
Mall security
Mall of America bans guns, but shoppers don’t pass through metal detectors. In October, however, management began testing a “weapons detection system” at one entrance. Violent incidents:
2019: A man threw a 5-year-old boy off a third-story balcony.
2021: Two mee were shot and wounded during a fight.
2022: Two men fired gunshots during an altercation, then fled.