UPDATE 4:
Lafayette Police say the person whose picture was released as a “person of interest” in the shooting was identified and is not a suspect. The person is a juvenile and won’t be identified, and because of his age we are taking down his photo.
Earlier today, they told us they had identified the person, who was pictured in photos from the mall. Last night, they told us they were looking for the young man as a person of interest.
That shooting left one person in the hospital with a non-life-threatening injury.
UPDATE 1: The person wounded in the shooting at the Acadiana Mall has sustained non-life-threatening injuries. They are in stable condition at a local hospital.
That report from a hospital spokesperson. Lafayette Police have also confirmed this information with the following statement at 5:47 p.m.
On December 24, 2018 at approximately 4:19 pm, Lafayette Police responded to the Acadiana Mall located at 5725 Johnston St. in reference to shots fired. Officers located one victim at the scene. The victim was transported to a local hospital and is being treated for non-life threatening injury. At this time detectives are following up on several leads regarding the incident. No suspect has been arrested at this time. The investigation into the incident remains on-going. Anyone with information is urged to call Lafayette Police or Lafayette Crime Stoppers at 232-TIPS.
In the last hour, Acadiana Mall officials say they are now closed. The mall will reopen at 8:00 am on Wednesday, December 26.
At this time, we have closed the mall. We will reopen at 8am on Wednesday, December 26.
— Acadiana Mall (@AcadianaMall) December 24, 2018
Lafayette Police confirm that one person is at a local hospital after being shot at Acadiana Mall today.
This is a developing story, we’ll update as soon as we can.
We’ve spoken to someone who was working at the Food Court when the incident happened.
A 17-year-old worker was helping a customer when he heard a noise.
“I just got down, and I ran to the back of the store,” the worker, who is a senior in high school told KATC.
He said he and his co-workers are safe, and don’t see anything now except police walking around the empty mall.
“The mall is pretty empty, we can see one police officer down the main hall,” he said.
Seeing the mall empty is bizarre on a Christmas Eve, he said.
“It’s just so empty,” he said. “Just some police officers walking around, and the workers trying to get out.”
The worker said he was “98 percent sure” the noise was a gun going off.
“Then we saw a bunch of people yelling and running toward the exits,” he said. “It was very scary. You think that these kind of things won’t happen to you, but you hear stories about massing shootings, school shootings. It just goes to show you should always be prepared, and tell everyone you love them. Because you never know.”
ORIGINAL STORY: First responders say that police are investigating reports of a shooting at the Acadiana Mall.
Lafayette Police say they are on scene but could not confirm if the incident was a shooting.
Witnesses at the mall say a noise was heard near the food court and saw people running away from the area.
First responders confirm to KATC that police are investigating reports of a shooting at the Acadiana Mall.
No word yet on injuries or if anyone has been taken into custody. This is a developing story.
KATC’s Daniel Phillips is live at the Acadiana Mall and will have the latest updates as they become available.
