People were shopping, eating and walking at Ross Park Mall on Wednesday, a sunny morning after a shootout Tuesday night in the mall’s parking lot left at least one person hurt.
Gene Pancheri and his wife, Antoinette, of Pittsburgh were among the mall walkers getting in their steps, as they have been doing almost every day for years. They heard about the shooting from news reports.
“I think everybody’s crazy,” Antoinette said. “I don’t understand what’s with the guns and fighting.”
They, along with others including people who had brought young children to the mall, had no reservations about being there.
“It’s usually safe in here,” Gene said.
Ross police were still early in their investigation Wednesday and working to determine exactly what happened, Deputy Chief Brian Kohlhepp said.
Between eight and 10 people, described as being young and including some juveniles, were involved, Kohlhepp said. They had been in the mall before the exchange of gunfire outside in the area of Dick’s Sporting Goods and Nordstrom.
“We do know a number of people that were there. We’ve been able to identify some of the people that were there,” he said. “We do know there was an exchange of gunfire involving those people. Right now, it’s trying to figure out exactly what led to those events and who did what actions that would be criminal in nature.”
The injured person was last known to be in stable condition. Kohlhepp did not release any further information about that person.
While no charges had been filed and no arrests had been made, police were making progress.
That included Pittsburgh police finding a minivan believed to be involved in the shooting in the area of the city and Wilkinsburg. It was at Ross’ evidence processing bay where Kohlhepp said they planned to search it.
Police interviewed people who were found with the van, he said.
“We’re still poring through statements and trying to determine the veracity of the people we’ve spoken with as well as the surveillance video at the mall,” he said.
“The mall has a very extensive surveillance system to include a number of the larger stores there,” he said. “We have a lot of video to pore through as well as some people who were at the scene and interviews with witnesses.”
The mall was open for business as usual Wednesday, and Kohlhepp said it is safe for people to come out and shop.
A statement released by the mall said there would be additional security.
“We are grateful for the swift response from local law enforcement to last night’s incident and continue to support their investigation,” the statement said. “We are committed to maintaining a strong security program at Ross Park Mall. This includes 24/7/365 video and operational surveillance, license plate readers, as well as a specially trained K-9 and armed handler on-site.”
Ross police were at the mall in the morning conducting their investigation. Mall security was seen inside and outside the mall, along with janitorial staff.
A North Huntingdon man, who did not want to have his name published, said he brought his young daughter to the mall for her birthday, to get her shoes and a Build-A-Bear. His mother-in-law had told him about the shooting, but it didn’t stop them from going there Wednesday.
“It’s everywhere anymore, that’s the problem — too much going on in the world,” he said as his daughter played in a play area. “People are going nuts.”
Another man, who also did not want his name published, said he wasn’t too worried to come to the mall.
“It’s kind of sad. I think gun violence is bad,” he said. “Things happen. There are shootings every day around the world. You can’t be scared to come outside.”
