Police at Westfield Valley Fair Mall in California's Silicon Valley say a shooting that injured three people appears to be an isolated incident, with authorities ruling out any threat to the public.
The victims, one adult male and two others - including 16-year-old girl - were shot during a confrontation between two individuals outside Macy's on the second floor of the mall. The police confirmed no suspects have been apprehended yet in connection with the shooting.
Witnesses described chaos as people scrambled to find shelter after hearing gunshots. "It was like fireworks," said one shopper, who added they initially thought it sounded like fireworks before realizing it was gunshots. Others claimed they heard loud bangs and glass shattering as panic set in among shoppers.
The mall was placed on lockdown, with hundreds seeking refuge in nearby stores or hiding places. Once the situation was brought under control, police began evacuating the area, using SWAT team members to ensure public safety.
"I thought something fell," one shopper said they heard at first, before realizing it was a gunshot. "We ducked down."
Police have appealed for witnesses and anyone with information to come forward. The motive behind the shooting remains unclear, but authorities emphasize there is no ongoing threat to the community.
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan urged residents to avoid the area while police investigate the incident.
The victims, one adult male and two others - including 16-year-old girl - were shot during a confrontation between two individuals outside Macy's on the second floor of the mall. The police confirmed no suspects have been apprehended yet in connection with the shooting.
Witnesses described chaos as people scrambled to find shelter after hearing gunshots. "It was like fireworks," said one shopper, who added they initially thought it sounded like fireworks before realizing it was gunshots. Others claimed they heard loud bangs and glass shattering as panic set in among shoppers.
The mall was placed on lockdown, with hundreds seeking refuge in nearby stores or hiding places. Once the situation was brought under control, police began evacuating the area, using SWAT team members to ensure public safety.
"I thought something fell," one shopper said they heard at first, before realizing it was a gunshot. "We ducked down."
Police have appealed for witnesses and anyone with information to come forward. The motive behind the shooting remains unclear, but authorities emphasize there is no ongoing threat to the community.
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan urged residents to avoid the area while police investigate the incident.
! i was thinking about how we always hear about shootings on tv and think it's so far away from us, but this is like right in our backyard 
. i know people who went to that mall just last week and they didn't even think something bad would happen. it's just devastating to think about those 3 people getting hurt 
. the witnesses' reactions were wild too - "it sounded like fireworks" lol, no wonder they were confused for a sec 
. anyway, i hope whoever did this gets caught and the community can start healing again 
. we need more support for our first responders and mental health services in places like that mall 
... can't believe it happened at a mall in one of the safest places in the country 
. Poor 16-year-old girl, what if her family never sees her smile again? 
And hundreds of people hiding for their lives because some idiot decided to bring a gun into the mall... what's wrong with us?! 
I'm so tired of living in fear of these kinds of incidents 
. And can't we just have a conversation without it turning into a shootout? 
It's like, can't we all just get along?! 
maybe the mall will have those new gun-detecting scanners now? 
idk if thats a good idea or not lol... anyway im just hoping whoever gets caught gets help and stuff 
Man, what's the point of even having a mall lockdown system if it's not gonna work? Three people get shot and now hundreds are stuck in stores like some kinda hostage situation 
. The police are just making a big show about appealing for tips to distract us from the fact that they still have no idea who did it 
. The mayor is right though, stay away from the area for a while, better safe than sorry 
.
, considering it's a crazy busy place and you never know what can happen 
. But at the same time, I'm kinda freaking out that three people got shot and there are still no suspects 
And I don't wanna freak anyone out, but it's pretty wild that some people thought it was fireworks first lol. Anyway, gotta give a shoutout to the police for keeping everyone safe and all 
... guess you never know when things might get real 
.
can't wait to see if any info comes out about what happened 
. I mean, it's 2025 and we're still getting shot at in public places? Can't they just have some sort of panic button or something? And what's with the eyewitnesses thinking it sounded like fireworks first? Like, isn't that what happens when there's a firework display? 
I guess it's not like anyone's ever heard a gunshot before and thought "oh, maybe that's just a firework" 
. hope this whole thing gets solved soon and the mall can get back to normal shopping vibes 
.
. Can you believe people are still getting shot just because they disagreed with each other? 
It's like, what even is going on anymore? 
.
. The victims are a male adult and two others, including a 16-yr-old girl 
.
. Authorities say there's no ongoing threat to the public, but I'm still waiting for more info on the motive behind the shooting 
.
. Let's hope this incident is an isolated one and not a sign of things to come 
... witnesses reported hearing loud bangs and glass shattering as people scrambled to find shelter 
.
hope they catch the guy ASAP so we don't have to worry about it anymore 
i dont think we need no more shootings or lockdowns lol i wish they had a way to diffuse the situation b4 it got out of hand like what kinda confrontation was gonna happen outside macy's 
anyway, i guess police said there ain't no suspects yet so maybe w/ luck it's just some crazy stalker thing 
idk what ppl r gonna do tho, just hope they catch whoever did this ASAP 
like we need those kinds of scary moments to remind us to slow down and appreciate the little things. 
thinking it's another mass shooting in the US which we've seen before 
. And what's up with this "it was like fireworks" comment from that shopper? Like, is she trying to downplay it or something? 
. I'm all about defending my platform of choice 
, but stuff like this makes me wanna stay safe at home 
! It's wild how quickly panic sets in when you hear gunshots, right? 
. The police just wanna sweep it under the rug and move on, right? Wrong! There gotta be someone behind this who wants to keep the truth from coming out. And I'm gonna stick my neck out here and say it's not an isolated incident either - there's more to this story than meets the eye 
. Anyway, I'll be keepin' my eyes peeled for any updates on this one 
.
. What's really going on here? Are they hiding something from us? I'm not saying it's a conspiracy or anything (okay, maybe a little 
), but I do think we need to keep an eye out for more info before they let the story slide.