Shots were fired inside a busy mall near Atlanta on Saturday. One person was shot in the incident and the suspect was on the run, police said.
According to reports, the shooting sent scores of holiday shoppers fleeing out of the Cumberland Mall in Cobb County, about 14 miles north of downtown Atlanta. Officials said that the shooting took place in the food court of the mall. The victim's condition wasn't immediately clear.
"It was a fight that escalated and got out of control" before one person was shot, Cobb County Fire Department spokeswoman Denell Boyd told NBC News.
"It was pure pandemonium," shopper Adrian Matthews told Channel 2 Action News at the scene. "People started running and knocked over pretty much the entire store. Candles, glass — It was crazy."
Cobb County police tweeted at 1:50 p.m. there was "no active shooter." A video posted online appears to show shoppers running.
*We are continuing to gather information but this is not an active shooter event," police said. "It appears this was an isolated incident."
A mall spokeswoman said that there were no other injuries reported in the incident.
"An altercation between three individuals escalated this afternoon in our food court," said Lindsay Kahn, a rep for mall owners Brookfield Properties.
"While we are disheartened by this isolated incident, we are grateful there were no further injuries and that our security and partners at the Cobb County Police Department were on site to contain the situation. This was a frightening experience for our tenants and guests and we are assisting the police with their developing investigation."
