California Mall Shooting Sees Girl Gunned Down, Suspect Still at Large

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Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property insurance market, local and national politics. She has previously extensively covered U.S. and European politics. Giulia joined Newsweek in 2022 from CGTN Europe and had previously worked at the European Central Bank. She is a graduate in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University and holds a Bachelor's degree in Politics and International Relations from Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy. She speaks English, Italian, and a little French and Spanish. You can get in touch with Giulia by emailing: g.carbonaro@newsweek.com.

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A gunman opened fire inside a mall in California on Tuesday, injuring at least one person.

Victorville Police Department reports that deputies were dispatched to Victor Valley Mall in the 14400 block of Bear Valley Road in Victorville at about 6:30 p.m. after reports of a shooting. The incident, according to Victor Valley News Group (VVNG), took place near a Barnes & Noble.

In footage from the channel, a helicopter can be seen deployed at the scene, standing ready to transport any injured persons.

Police stock
A stock image of a police car. A shooting in a shopping mall in California on Tuesday evening injured a 9-year-old child. Getty Images

Once there, officers ordered the evacuation of the mall and searched for suspects.

Police found that one person inside the mall, a 9-year-old girl, had been injured by the shooting. The child was transported to a hospital in stable condition, police reports say.

According to her family, the girl had been shot multiple times, as reported by VVNG. "Three gunshot wounds to the arm. It broke her upper bone. She's doing good and will recover in time," the grandmother of the girl, Robin Moraga-Saldarelli, told VVNG.

Only one suspect, who fled the scene, was identified by deputies, who said the shooting appeared to be "an isolated incident" and it's not being considered "an active shooter event."

Victorville Police Department deputies are now investigating leads to find the suspect.
The family of the victim told Fox11 that they did not recognize the shooter as anyone they knew. They told Fox11 that the girl was getting ready to take pictures with the Easter Bunny when the gunman opened fire.

The family then ran into the backroom of a store and locked the door, NBC reports.

No other injuries were reported in connection to the shooting.

Victor Valley Mall was ordered to remain closed for the rest of the evening on Tuesday. No information was released on the suspect, and the reasons for the attack remains unknown.

Less than a month ago, at least two people were injured in a shooting at another Californian shopping mall, the Valley Plaza mall in Bakersfield. Bakersfield Police Department deemed the shooting an "isolated incident in the parking garage."

In January, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department arrested two suspects in connection to a shooting in a Moreno Valley Mall, 60 miles east of Los Angeles. No one was injured.

In December 2021, three people were injured in a shooting at the parking lot of Del Amo mall in Torrance, Los Angeles County. All victims survived and two teenagers were later arrested as suspects.

Update 04/13/22, 3:16 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include more details on the context of the incident.

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About the writer

Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property insurance market, local and national politics. She has previously extensively covered U.S. and European politics. Giulia joined Newsweek in 2022 from CGTN Europe and had previously worked at the European Central Bank. She is a graduate in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University and holds a Bachelor's degree in Politics and International Relations from Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy. She speaks English, Italian, and a little French and Spanish. You can get in touch with Giulia by emailing: g.carbonaro@newsweek.com.

Writers Page

Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property ... Read more