One killed and three hurt in shooting at Texas mall near site of 2019 mass killing

Police in El Paso, Texas, say one person was killed and three other people were wounded in a shooting on Wednesday in a shopping mall.

One person has been taken into custody, El Paso police spokesperson Sgt Robert Gomez said. No immediate information was given about that person.

Another person could be involved, Gomez said, and police were looking for them. No description was given.

A weapon was recovered at the scene, Gomez said, but he could not provide more information about that.

“It’s too early to speculate on motive,” Gomez said.

The three who were wounded were hospitalized, Gomez said. Their conditions were not known.

Gomez said police believe the scene is secure and that officers are sweeping through the mall to verify that.

Authorities have set up a reunification center at a nearby high school.

Police earlier said the shooting was reported at the shopping mall’s food court.

Wednesday’s shooting at the Cielo Vista mall happened in a busy shopping area and across a large parking lot from a Walmart where 23 people were killed in a racist attack in 2019.

The US has seen dozens of people killed in mass shootings so far in 2023, most recently on Monday at Michigan State University, where three students were killed and five more were wounded. In January, California saw a string of mass shootings that included 11 people killed in a dance hall in the Los Angeles-area city of Monterey Park, and seven killed in the coastal town of Half Moon Bay.