Mall of America: Man with gun arrested in robbery attempt
A man with a long gun was arrested at the Mall of America in what mall officials said was an armed robbery attempt, just three weeks after the mall was locked down after shots were fired near a store.
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — A man with a rifle was arrested at the Mall of America on Friday after what police said was an armed robbery, just three weeks after the mall was locked down after shots were fired near a store.
The mall said in a statement that security “immediately became aware of the situation” and arrested the man without incident. It said the mall wasn’t locked down because the arrest was immediate.
Police in Bloomington, the Minneapolis suburb where the mall is located, said the man had just robbed an athletic apparel store when he was arrested by mall security. The statement said security officers had been alerted by a caller who saw the man enter the mall. It also said the 28-year-old man was also suspected of robbing a Minneapolis pawn shop earlier Friday.
The Star Tribune reported that one of its photo editors, Kevin Martin, was at the mall and saw police arrest a man and take a long gun.
“They were all over him,” Martin told the newspaper. “I don’t know how they found him or if he walked in with it in plain view.”
Police and mall security escorted the man away. Martin said there was no lockdown alert and no shoppers fled in panic.
The incident came after the mall was locked down Aug. 4 when a man fired shots in front of a Nike store following a fight. No one was injured in that shooting. Two people were later arrested in the case.