Shots Fired: What Happened At Beachwood Place Mall On March 17

BEACHWOOD, OH — Beachwood Place Mall was placed on lockdown Saturday after two to three shots were fired outside the shopping complex, near Saks Fifth Avenue at about 3 p.m. Three hours later, at 6 p.m., police were called back to the mall for reports of another shot being fired.

Police have arrested one man in connection with the incident and two people were hurt during the shootings. The first St. Patrick's Day shooting was apparently part of a fight between two men that knew each other, Beachwood Police Chief Gary Haba said in a press release. One of the men was wounded, suffering a gunshot wound to the leg. The other man was arrested at the scene. Both men are in police custody.

Police said they found a large amount of cash and a handgun after the shooting, Haba said. While the mall has described Saturday's shootings as isolated, customers were terrified.

There were reports of a second shooting at about 6 p.m. near the entrance of the mall. Officers took a 17-year-old girl to the hospital, where she was treated and released. At that point, the mall was put on lockdown and police searched the building.

Investigators do not yet know if the two incidents are related.

The mall remained closed on Saturday and did not re-open until noon on Sunday. Beachwood Place Mall staff addressed the incident on Facebook Saturday night, saying, "Today’s isolated incident was handled in full cooperation with the Beachwood Police Department. We will open tomorrow, Sunday, March 18th as normally scheduled at 12:00 noon," the mall said. They added that personal belongings left at the mall during the shootings would be kept in the mall's security office.

Several customers responded to the mall's post asking for something to be done and urging the hiring of additional security.

These shooting incidents come a little more than a year after the mall was placed on lockdown for a large-scale brawl between teenagers. Police from neighboring departments had to respond to Beachwood Place Mall in December 2016 after the fight broke out. Pepper spray had to be used to subdue the fighters.

Following that fracas, the mall installed new safety regulations that required teenagers to be accompanied by parents while shopping and curfews for guests under a certain age.

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