One 22-year-old man ended a fight with another by fatally shooting him inside a Tennessee mall on Thursday, and then gave up his weapon and surrendered, saying he didn't want any more trouble, police said.
Nashville Police spokesman Don Aaron said the shooter put the gun on the counter of a ticket booth across from the Opry Mills Mall, and then was ordered to lie on the ground by a retired California police officer who now lives in Tennessee.
The victim has been identified by police as Demarco Churchwell, who is also 22. The suspected shooter has been identified as Justin Golson, police said. It is not clear if Golson will face charges or if he has a lawyer. He was in police custody and being interviewed by investigators Thursday evening.
The gunfire prompted an outsized response. The mall was evacuated, police officers responded in force, at least a half a dozen ambulances converged on the scene and authorities said the adjacent Grand Ole Opry House and convention center were put on lockdown for a time.
The shooting couldn't be heard over the battle scenes in a showing of "Avengers: Infinity War," which was disrupted when officers in riot gear came into the theater and told everyone to leave.
"I'm just thinking Aurora, Colorado," said Dave O'Brien, a crime and breaking news reporter for the Record-Courier in Kent, Ohio, who was visiting Nashville with his girlfriend to check out CrimeCon, a convention of true crime enthusiasts.
O'Brien said he grabbed his media credentials and then snapped some photos and tweeted them.
"The exits are blocked. Cops everywhere," O'Brien said. "There's a command post set up. News trucks and cop cars everywhere, just armed police officers. Their response time was incredibly quick."
Jayla Chapple, 18, was in an employee meeting in the back of Moe's Southwest Grill when two people rushed in saying there was a shooter in the mall. Chapple, a shift leader at the restaurant, said the employees started running outside through the rear exit.
"I really didn't have time to think that much, but get out of there," she said.
Troopers happened to be conducting motorcycle training in the mall's parking lot at the time, so they set up a perimeter to support the responding police officers, Tennessee Highway Patrol Lt. Bill Miller said.
Metro Nashville Police said in a tweet Thursday that there was no further threat, but officers were sweeping through the mall to make sure after the shooting.
Tonya Young said she raced to the scene when she heard about the shooting because her 17-year-old daughter, Victoria Holt, works at one of the shops.
She later learned that her daughter was unhurt, but remained stuck outside while officers did their work.
"Until I physically lay eyes on her, I'm not going to be ok," Young said. "I want to see her; I want to get to her."
The mall was built on the former site of the Opryland USA theme park. With more than 200 stores, it is Tennessee's biggest outlet mall, featuring a movie theater, a celebrity wax figure museum, restaurants and more.
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This story has been corrected to show retired California officer lives in Tennessee; ticket booth where suspect surrendered was outside mall, and woman Tonya Young who raced to mall to check on daughter was forced to wait outside.
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4:30 p.m.
Police say the 22-year-old man who was shot in a dispute at a Nashville mall has died and that a retired police officer from California helped take the suspect into custody.
Police spokesman Don Aaron did not immediately release the name of the shooting victim.
Aaron says police first got a call at 2:23 p.m. He says the shooting followed an altercation between two men in a hallway at the mall. The police official, briefing journalists at Opry Mill malls, says the suspect then surrendered the gun at a ticket booth in the mall shortly after the shooting.
According to Aaron, the shooting suspect placed the weapon on a counter at a ticket booth in the mall and told the ticket taker he wanted no further trouble. Aaaron says a retired California police officer who was visiting Nashville stepped in and ordered the man to lie on the ground. The suspect was then taken into custody.
Police say both suspect and victim are 22 years old and from Nashville.
4:00 p.m.
Nashville police said a suspect is in custody and there's no further threat after a person was wounded inside Nashville's Opry Mills Mall.
The mall was evacuated after reports of gunfire that prompted a large police response. At least half a dozen ambulances converged on the scene.
One person was taken in critical condition to Skyline Medical Center, the Nashville Fire Department said in a tweet.
Troopers were already in the mall's parking lot doing motorcycle training, so they set up a perimeter to support the responding police officers, Tennessee Highway Patrol Lt. Bill Miller said.
Metro Nashville Police said in a tweet Thursday that there was no further threat, but officers were sweeping through the mall to make sure.
Tonya Young said she raced to the scene when she heard about the shooting because her 17-year-old daughter, Victoria Holt, works at one of the shops.
She later learned that her daughter was unhurt, but remained stuck inside while officers did their work.
"Until I physically lay eyes on her, I'm not going to be ok," Young said. "I want to see her; I want to get to her."
The mall was built on the former site of the Opryland USA theme park, and is adjacent to the Grand Ole Opry House.
This post has been updated.
