“No motive, no intention has been identified ... essentially he was playing with a firearm and it went off and it struck him,” Miami Twp. Assistant Police Chief James McCarty said.
Police said they are checking local hospitals for gunshot victims who arrived in that period. The call initially went out as an active-shooter call, leading to a major police response and worries at the mall, which was crowded three days before Christmas.
Some people who were in the mall at the time of the incident described hearing a shot fired, then people running. Multiple stores quickly closed their gates, and some ushered people into back rooms.
The mall entrance by the H&M store was blocked off with tape, and there was police tape up near the Buckle store in the mall.
By about 3:45 p.m., numerous police from multiple agencies were on the scene at 2700 Miamisburg-Centerville Road, but at that point they were no longer in urgent response mode, and people were going in and out of some mall entrances.
Police said after a lockdown and investigation, the mall is back open. They said no one other than the teen in question was injured, and they believe it was an isolated incident.
McCarty said no one was detained in connection with the incident, adding that “all parties that were involved left the scene.”
“There is a shooting investigation currently underway at the Dayton Mall involving one individual. There is no active threat at the Dayton Mall at this time,” The Miami Twp. Police Department said in a Facebook post around 4:30 p.m. “Multiple crews are at the scene and the investigation is underway. We will share more information as it becomes available, but in the meantime, police ask that you avoid the area.”
This is a developing story, and we will update as we learn more.
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