Police say long-standing argument prompted North Carolina mall shooting

Off-duty officers had responded to the fight at Northlake Mall in Charlotte and shot a man with a gun, police said.

Dozens of police vehicles are at the Northlake Mall in Charlotte, North Carolina after receiving reports of shots fired.

Police in Charlotte, N.C., say an argument between two groups of people who knew each other led to the death of an armed suspect.

Posts on social media showed shoppers evacuating the mall and police arriving at the scene.

Putney says an off-duty officer nearby heard gunshots and confronted an armed man who pointed a gun in his direction.

Westbrook was pronounced dead by Medic.

Per standard procedure in an officer involved shooting, Officer Ferguson is on paid administrative leave while the department investigates. He said multiple weapons were found at the scene.

The public is asked to go to the AMC parking lot to be reunited with lost family members.

In the same store, Lisa Sawyer Phillips, 46, and her 26-year-old son were looking for Carolina Panthers T-shirts when they heard the shots.

The scene was chaotic, she said: People ran to their cars. A medic told WBTV one person sustained a leg injury. “That is part of the investigation”, he said.

The shooting happened inside the Northlake Mall.

The mall was packed Christmas Eve as people tried to finish up their Christmas shopping.

“This is not a random act of violence”, Putney said of the incident.