Rosemont Mall Shooting: Skokie Man 'Targeted,' Police Chase Leads

ROSEMONT, IL — Police investigating the shooting that killed a man and wounded a teenage girl Friday at the Fashion Outlets of Chicago mall have spoken to numerous witnesses and identified the owner of a car thought to be involved in the shooting, according to the Rosemont Public Safety Department.

Police were called to the mall at 5220 Fashion Outlets Way in Rosemont for a report of gunfire around 7:15 p.m., according to police. Amid the shooting, panicked shoppers ran for cover or hid inside stores around the mall.

Joel Valdes, 20, of Skokie, was found lying on the ground in a hallway near the food court, police said. He had been shot repeatedly, and the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office ruled his death a homicide caused by multiple gunshot wounds.

Officers also found a 15-year-old girl inside a bathroom near the food court. She had been shot once in the right wrist and grazed in the leg, police said. She was taken to a hospital, where police said she was in stable condition.

"This shooting was an isolated incident that appears to be targeted between the offender and Valdes," police said. "One firearm was recovered from the scene and is being processed as evidence."

The shooter was described as a man in his 20s wearing a face mask who left the scene in a maroon 2008 Honda with unidentified companions.

According to police, the vehicle suspected of involvement and its owner were later located and questioned. The owner was considered a person of interest, but no charges had yet been filed in connection with the shooting.

"We have spoken to numerous witnesses which has given us multiple credible leads," police said Sunday.

One witness told the Chicago Tribune he heard "what sounded like an automatic weapon."

Another shopper in one of the stores at the mall described seeing her husband's reaction.

"He was like, 'Run, there’s a shooting.' He's running toward us, and all he's shouting is, 'There's a shooting. Run,'" she told WMAQ-TV. "And there’s just people running right behind him."

"It makes you think twice about going out," one shopper told WLS-TV. "It's not safe anywhere, so you have to be careful everywhere you go, every time."

Officers from the Rosemont Public Safety Department, which is one of Illinois' only combined police and fire departments, had assistance from federal agents while clearing the mall and its parking garage, which was complete around 11:15 p.m., according to police.

Some shoppers who arrived Saturday morning left after finding the mall was still closed around 10 a.m., the Chicago Sun-Times reported. It reopened around noon.

"We remind shoppers and employees there is no threat to the area," police said, "and the Rosemont Public Safety Department will continue to work with mall management to provide a safe environment for people to shop."