Man Killed in Shooting at Florida Shopping Mall

Police say the victim was targeted in Ocala
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Dec 24, 2023 1:00 AM CST
Man Killed in Shooting at Florida Shopping Mall
Ocala Police Chief Mike Balken speaks during a news conference following a fatal shooting at Paddock Mall in Ocala, Fla..   (WKMG/ClickOrlando via AP)

One man was killed and a woman was shot in the leg in a shooting at a shopping mall in central Florida two days before Christmas. The man who was killed appeared to be the gunman's intended target, say police. Ocala Police Chief Mike Balken told reporters Saturday evening that the man was killed after he was shot multiple times in a common area at Paddock Mall in Ocala, about 80 miles northwest of Orlando, per the AP. The woman who was shot in the leg is expected to survive, per CNN. The gunman, who fled the scene and left behind the firearm, remains at large.

Police arrived at the mall around 3:40pm after a call of multiple shots being fired. "Officers immediately made entry into the mall (and) ultimately discovered that this was not what we would consider an active shooter," Balken told reporters. Several other mall patrons also suffered injuries during the shooting, with one person having chest pain and another reporting a broken arm, police said.

(More mall shooting stories.)

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