WAUWATOSA, Wis – Police continued to search Sunday for the suspect in a shooting at a Wisconsin mall that left seven adults and a teenager injured.
The Wauwatosa Police Department is scheduled to hold a press conference about the shooting Sunday afternoon. NewsNation will livestream the event.
The mall, located in suburban Milwaukee, remained closed Saturday after investigators remained there overnight. It is unknown if the mall remained closed Sunday.
“WPD investigators, with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, are continuing to interview victims and witnesses to identify and apprehend the suspect. If anyone has information about the suspect’s identity or location, please convey that information immediately to the WPD,”: said Mayor Dennis McBride.
Wauwatosa Police Chief Barry Weber said the extent of the eight victims’ injuries was unknown, but all were alive. He added that the shooter was “no longer at the scene” when authorities arrived at Mayfair Mall. Officials said Friday evening that the shooting was not random but was the result of an altercation.
Wauwatosa Police said the dispatchers received the first 911 calls reporting the shooting at the mall near the entrance to Macy’s around 2:50 p.m. Friday. At least 75 officers initially responded to the scene. The FBI and the Milwaukee Field office of the ATF responded to the incident as well.
The Mayfair Mall was the site of a February shooting in which a city police officer, Joseph Mensah, shot and killed Alvin Cole, a Black 17-year-old. Police said Cole was fleeing from police; Mensah, who is also Black, said he shot Cole because Cole pointed a gun at him. The mall was the target of sporadic protests over several months in the wake of the shooting.
The Milwaukee County district attorney declined to file charges against Mensah, but the city this week agreed to a separation agreement in which Mensah will be paid at least $130,00 to leave the force.