Gunman kills two in Black Friday mall shooting

A gunman shot and killed two people in a Northern California mall Friday as Black Friday shopping was in full swing, The Associated Press reported.

The incident resulted in the death of a 19-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy. The younger boy was found critically injured at the scene and was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

“Heard a couple of shots go off, didn’t really think anything of it,” Antwon Martinez, a mall worker, told the AP. “And more and more kept going off, so everyone started running toward our back room. … Everyone just started running.”

The Sacramento Police Department has not yet released a suspect profile; however, it said it was actively looking for a man in his 20s, according to the AP.

“We will be doing everything that we can to identify the suspect or suspects who are involved in this incident and make an arrest in this,” police spokesman Officer Karl Chan said during a news conference, according to The Sacramento Bee. 

Chan added that the shooting was an isolated incident and a targeted attack.

The shooting comes as Sacramento and other California cities have experienced increased violence during the COVID-19 pandemic, the AP reported.