Iowa Mall Shooting: Teenage Girl Dead After Gunman Opens Fire At Coral Ridge Mall


A shooting incident at an Iowa Mall has left one person dead, reports USA Today. Initial reports say that the incident took place in the food court of the Coral Ridge Mall in Iowa City. The suspect believed to be behind the mall shooting incident is in the custody of police already, an official from the Iowa Department Of Public Safety confirmed.

Alex Murphy, an official from the Iowa Department Of Public Safety, told the press that they are, at this stage, unable to release details about the victim’s identity. While the age and gender of the victim were also not released, it is believed that the victim was a teenage girl.

Meanwhile, eyewitnesses to the incident told local newspapers that the mall shooting started at around 7:30 p.m. local time. According to reports, several shots rang out in the food court area of the mall. According to Ryan Ross, who worked at one of the kiosks installed at the mall, the shooter was a security officer working in the same mall. According to Ross, the shooter went past him and even made eye contact while doing so.

“He made eye contact with me, I saw the gun and he sprinted off down the main corridor of the mall”, Ross said.

Another mall worker, Jeff Carew, said that he was near the victim, who, according to him, was a girl aged not more than 17 or 18.

“I heard three shots and watched the girl fall,” Carew told reporters.

The victim was reportedly shot in the back using a handgun. Carew added that the shooter wore a black hat and a black vest and that he was a young male.

Another witness to the Iowa Mall shooting, Alex Halter, also confirmed that the victim was indeed a teenage girl.

“I was heading toward the food court and heard three gunshots and in 10 seconds everyone was running,” Halter said.

22-year-old Chizom Ekpunobi, one of the eyewitnesses, had just stepped out of the Coral Ridge Cinema after watching the movie Entourage when she heard the gunshots

“They rung out. We heard a couple of shots. At first we thought it was fireworks or the mall falling apart and when we realized what had happened and saw everyone else running out of the mall, we didn’t stop to think. We just followed.”

Meanwhile, an ABC News report confirmed that the Iowa Mall shooting suspect was arrested by Troopers with the Iowa State Patrol and Scott County Sheriff’s deputies during a traffic stop on Interstate 80. At this moment no further details regarding the unfortunate Iowa Mall Shooting have been released.

[Image Via ABC News]

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