17-year-old arrested in Christiana Mall shooting. Delaware State Police search for two additional suspects
The early-April shooting left three injured at the shopping center on a Saturday night.
A 17-year-old teen has been arrested and charged in connection with a Saturday night shooting that left three injured and sparked a frenzy among shoppers at Christiana Mall earlier this month.
Delaware State Police said they identified the Newark, Del., teen who turned himself in Monday and was charged with the felonies of facilitating a riot and second-degree conspiracy. His name has not been released because he is a minor. The teen, who police said was not the shooter, was also charged with offensive touching, police said.
In announcing the arrest, police also laid out a clearer picture of how the shooting led to the mall’s evacuation and early closure on April 8.
According to investigators, the altercation began as an 18-year-old man exited the mall’s food court and he was confronted and subsequently assaulted by three other males. Authorities say two additional people joined the melee, after seeing their friend in trouble. But the fistfight escalated when one of the initial suspects pulled a gun from his waistband and “began firing multiple rounds,” according to state police.
The 18-year-old and one of his friends, a 16-year-old who joined the fight to help him, sustained a total of three gunshot wounds to the torso and lower extremities, police said.
A third person, also 18, was shot once while standing on the sidewalk by a mall entrance.
State police said they responded to reports of a shooting at the mall at about 6:45 p.m. As law enforcement descended on the scene, videos of confused shoppers unsure of whether to stay put or exit the mall circulated on social media. A reunification site was established at the north entrance of the mall and the shopping center was closed for the remainder of the evening as authorities investigated.
State police said the 17-year-old suspect was arraigned in New Castle Family Court. He has been committed to a Division of Youth Rehabilitative Services facility on a $15,000 secured bail.
Police said they have yet to identify the two remaining suspects and are seeking the public’s help should they have any leads.