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Dispute between 2 people at Northlake Mall preceded reports of shots fired, CMPD says

Spinoso Real Estate Group, which maintains and operates Northlake Mall, is suing five national retailers after they closed and left the mall in as many months.

Northlake Mall is closed for the rest of Sunday as the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department investigates a shots fired call, according to the department.

The investigation inside the mall appears to be for an isolated incident, according to CMPD. There is no active shooter, the agency said around 3:15 p.m.

A police official told reporters at the scene that officers responded to the mall shortly before 2 p.m. for the shots fired call. Police believe one shot was fired inside the mall in front of the DTLR shoe store after a dispute between two people, the police official told reporters.

There are no reports of anyone injured from a gunshot wound.

CMPD is working with Northlake to have an increased police presence there in the next few days.

Mall officials closed the mall for the remainder of the day. In a statement shortly before 6 p.m., the mall said, “We are working with local authorities on the incident that happened at Northlake Mall on Sunday afternoon.”

The mall will reopen Monday at its usual time of 10 a.m.

MEDIC was on scene around 2 p.m. In a Twitter post around 2:40 p.m., Medic said it was evaluating two people for non gunshot-related medical reasons. There were no gunshot victims confirmed on scene, Medic said on Twitter.

A WCNC reporter posted on Twitter that all entrances to the mall were closed and that the mall was being evacuated. Video from that scene showed CMPD cars at the mall entrance off WT Harris Boulevard, and streams of cars leaving the mall.

Customers describe chaotic scene

Some people who were at the mall Sunday afternoon took to social media to describe what they saw. One mother was at Macy’s shopping for a dress for her middle school-aged daughter. A woman’s voice yelled into the dressing room to get out immediately, the mother shared on Facebook.

The mother-daughter pair ran for the nearest exit and then to their car, passing police cars and fire engines. They got out unharmed, they said.

Another man posted an image from inside the mall on Facebook. There appear to be police officers and others standing in the middle of the mall near some police caution tape.

Previous shooting incidents at Northlake Mall

In December, the mall closed for a day after two people were shot at the northeast Charlotte shopping center.

An argument inside a store led to a fight between two people, police said at the time. Three people were arrested.

In March 2021, a juvenile was charged with the attempted murder of another youth following a shooting inside the mall, CMPD said at the time.