5 suspects arrested in deadly Mall of America shooting

5 suspects arrested in deadly Mall of America shooting

Five teenagers are in custody in connection with a deadly shooting at the Mall of America on Friday.

Three 17-year-old and two 18-year-old male suspects were arrested Saturday, Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges said.

"We are fairly confident that we do have the person responsible for murdering the victim in custody," Hodges told reporters during a briefing on Saturday.

A 19-year-old man was killed after a verbal altercation became violent in a Nordstrom branch at the Mall of America on Friday evening, police said.

An officer heard gunshots near the Nordstrom at the mall at approximately 7:50 p.m., Hodges said. But when the officer went into the store, they found a man who had been shot multiple times.

The officer tried to perform life-saving measures on the victim but the man ultimately succumbed to his injuries, authorities said.

The Mall of America in Minnesota was put on lockdown after the shooting, the Bloomington Police Department said, but was reopened a little over an hour later shortly after 9 p.m. The Nordstrom's branch remained closed.

A police car sits parked outside Nordstrom at Mall of America after a shooting Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Bloomington, Minn.

Abbie Parr/AP

After reviewing surveillance footage of the incident, authorities believe a verbal altercation began between two groups of people before it turned physical. During the conflict a man allegedly pulled out a gun and shot the 19-year-old, Hodges said.

It is believed that the entire altercation lasted about 30 seconds, authorities said.

The victim who died in the shooting has not yet been identified.

"The family here, I feel really bad for them," Hodges said during a briefing Friday evening. "This is before Christmas, and now they're having to bury one of their loved ones."

The Nordstrom remained closed on Saturday but the Mall of America was open as usual.

ABC News' Victoria Arancio contributed to this report.

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