BLOOMINGTON, Minn — Bloomington Police say an argument at the Mall of America ended with someone shooting three times inside a store, prompting a lockdown of the building Thursday afternoon.
Bloomington Police said no one was injured and the two suspects got away on foot. Friday morning, police say they are still looking for the people responsible for firing the shots and have no additional information available to the public beyond what was released Thursday night.
At a press conference just after 8 p.m. on Aug. 4, Bloomington Chief Booker began by saying "I really wish we didn't have to be here today." He called the shooting a "complete lack of respect for human life."
Chief Booker said the shooting started after an altercation between two parties at a cash register in the Nike Store around 4:15 p.m. One party (with two people) walked out of the store, but one of the individuals in the group turned around and fired a pistol into the store "full of people."
Police said they are looking for the shooter and the other person. They did not provide a description of them.
Anyone with information should call 952-563-4900.
The mall reopened Friday morning at 10 a.m. with increased security and police presence. Guest services will work with people who may have left any personal items at the mall during the chaos.
The lockdown, which lasted about two hours, was lifted at 5:45 p.m. The mall remained closed for the remainder of the night and Metro Transit service halted service.
Ava Malloy, an employee at Air Traffic Toys in the Mall of America, spoke to KARE 11 over the phone during the lockdown. "I turned off the lights and everyone's huddled behind something," Ava said.
"We were working with customers and then all of a sudden there were people running in the store. There was probably about 25 to 30 people and we looked and thought they were kids just goofing around," Macy's employee Brenda Wachello said via phone while taking cover inside the store. "And then people were saying, 'There's a shooter."
KARE 11's Morgan Wolfe spoke to a woman who said she heard "two gunshots above the DSW." The woman was able to leave the mall, but said her daughter had to stay inside during the lockdown.
Wolfe spoke with employees at the Nike store in the mall, who said a fight started between two groups of men. One of the men took out a gun and started shooting.
WATCH: Police say no arrests made after shots fired in the Mall of America Thursday