A TEENAGER has been arrested in connection with the mall shooting in Wisconsin that left eight people injured.
The Wauwatosa Police Department said on Sunday evening that they arrested a 15-year-old boy believed to be the shooter earlier that day.
Officers also found a gun that the boy allegedly used during the attack, police said in a statement, as reported by ABC News.
The teen managed to dodge cops by exiting the mall along with other patrons as police and tactical teams spent hours trying to secure the area, police said.
“An officer’s first priority in this situation is to secure the immediate scene and begin rendering first aid,” the Wauwatosa police said in their statement.
“The process to completely secure the mall, which contains 1,265 million square feet, took approximately six hours and involved seven tactical teams.”
Authorities revealed that the shooting wasn’t random – it was “an altercation between two groups,” and four of the eight victims were “innocent bystanders,” cops said.
The FBI and investigators worked together to review several leads from victims and witnesses to track down the suspect, according to police.
Officers swarmed the Mayfield Mall in Wauwatosa, a town about seven miles from Milwaukee, on Friday at 2:50pm.
Dramatic footage showed several SWAT teams and local authorities swarming the Macy’s department store, where the shooting was believed to have taken place.
Video from the scene shows a large number of police presence on the scene including K-9 dogs, Swat teams, armored cars, ambulances, and other first responders.
About 75 officers were at the scene investigating, and the FBI’s Milawukee office told ABC News it was responding to help local law enforcement.
Seven adults and one teenager were injured and taken to hospitals, where they were recovering, Mayor Dennis McBride said at a Friday night press conference.
Waseem Dilshad told Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that his uncle was working at the kiosk near Macy’s when he was shot twice in the leg.
Dilshad’s cousin – who saw the mass shooting – was speaking to him when shots rang out.
“He started cursing and yelling, and said, ‘I’m going to call you back, there’s blood everywhere’,” said Dilshad.
His uncle, who is in a stable condition, was taken to Froedtert Hospital.
Witnesses told WISN that they had heard eight to 12 gunshots.
People who claimed to be inside the mall at the time of the shooting said on Twitter that shoppers were bolting out of the mall.
Others who claimed they were stuck at the shopping center said they weren’t sure when they’d be able to leave.
Shoppers were reportedly still sheltering in the back of stores at around 6:15pm.
Friday’s attack isn’t the first that’s happened at the mall.
Alvin Cole, a black 17-year-old, was shot and killed by Wauwatosa Police officer Joseph Mensah on February 2, prompting heated Black Lives Matter protests in Wisconsin last month.
The Milwaukee County district attorney didn’t file charges against Mensah, but this week the city agreed to pay him at least $130,000 to leave the force.