ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. – Police, backed up by a SWAT team, captured five people in a house for a fight at the Mall of America in which one man was shot fatally and a woman was grazed. The arrests were 13 miles from the mall. Those arrested all were men: two of them 18 years old d three 17. Their names were not released immediately. Sources said that murder charges were being drafted. The raid, with riot officers from three jurisdiction, was about 8 a.m. – roughly 12 hours after the shooting. The suspects dispersed before police back-ups could control the scene. It was believed that some of them regrouped at a White Castle hamburger place near the mall but didn’t stay long, police said. Meanwhile, police were delaying release of the name of the victim, who died apparently instantly at the mall.
Mall profile
The Mall of America opened in 1992. At 2.9 million square feet, it’s the largest mall in the Western Hemisphere and the 11th largest globally. Forty million shoppers visit the mall annually, many who fly internationally into MSP for the experience. There are 520 stores and 50 eateries. A central aquarium takes visitors through a 300-foot curved tunnel 14 feet under water. More than 4,500 sea creatures including sharks, turtles and stingrays live there. The aquarium offers sleepovers, scuba diving, snorkeling and birthday parties.