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Suspect arrested for Vancouver Mall shooting that left 1 dead and 2 injured


Suspect arrested for Vancouver Mall shooting that left 1 dead and 2 injured

VANCOUVER Washington (KPTV) – A suspect was arrested Saturday after a fatal shooting left one man dead and two others injured at the Vancouver Mall Thursday night, according to Vancouver police.

On Saturday, police said they had concluded that 22-year-old Travis L. Ward was a suspect in the case and learned he was at a home in Vancouver. With the help of tactical units, Ward was arrested and booked into the Clark County Jail on charges of first-degree murder and two counts of assault.

Surveillance video captured the frightening moments as families fled the gunfire and hid:

Police are searching for a suspect after a man was shot and two others were injured at the Vancouver Mall on Thursday evening.

Earlier Saturday, police asked people to help them identify two women who they believed might have information about the shooting but were not suspects. Police said the women have been identified and have spoken to investigators.

Around 7:30 p.m. Thursday, police responded to reports of a shooting in the mall's food court. They found one man dead and two others injured who were taken to hospital. On Friday, police said the two injured victims – two men aged 30 and 40 – had been treated and released from hospital.

Witnesses told police that a suspect shot one person and “fired additional shots, striking two other people.”

Witnesses also told FOX 12 the shooter was dressed all in black and was wearing a Halloween mask. Vancouver police confirmed this information.

Police spoke to reporters shortly before 10 p.m. Watch the full press conference here:

1 dead, 2 injured after shooting at Vancouver Mall
1 dead, 2 injured after shooting at Vancouver Mall(KPTV)

The shooting occurred during the Halloween party at the Vancouver Mall.

At the time, there were hundreds of children and families in costume in the mall. Eyewitnesses described the scene inside as complete chaos. One person said they heard six or seven gunshots and then heard people screaming. People ran into stores to hide behind merchandise.

Keana Mills was trying to get her son to jump on the trampoline when they heard gunshots.

“The next thing I know, my child is hanging in the air and shots are being fired,” Mills said. “In my head I was just like, 'Oh my God, the kids – wait – my son is in the air – help me!'”

Mills immediately struggled to free her son from the harness and then looked for cover.

“I told my son to hide – just in case he wasn't ready – hide,” Mills said.

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Police are searching for a suspect or suspects after one person was shot and two others were injured at the Vancouver Mall on Thursday evening

For Raymond McConnell, his first instinct was to flee.

“I see a shooter wearing a mask from my family. I look into my wife's eyes. I point at her and walk out – at that moment my wife picks up my daughter and says, 'Let's go,' and a crowd of bums rush towards me,” McConnell said.

At the end of the hallway where the shooting occurred, workers quickly wrapped up their business after hearing the shots.

Bronwynn Cruden was working alone at her family's escape room business when she heard the shots.

“I didn't immediately realize what it was until I looked up and there were hundreds of people running and screaming with their children,” Cruden said.

The 16-year-old quickly escorted his customers and other families safely out the back door

“I was very scared, especially because there were so many kids in the mall,” Cruden said.

1 dead, 2 injured after shooting at Vancouver Mall
1 dead, 2 injured after shooting at Vancouver Mall(KPTV)

Although none of the families FOX 12 spoke to were injured, it will take time before they feel safe going to the mall again.

Mills said Friday that she was still in shock.

“Even my son – I ask, 'Do you know what happened?' And he doesn’t talk about it,” Mills said. “We are all in shock and lagging behind.”

McConnell said he is already in the process of scheduling counseling appointments for his family.

“This is a very traumatic situation that we experienced last night,” McConnell said. “The first thing my daughter came out and said to me was, 'Dada, I was trick-or-treating last night, sitting at a game, and a guy went BANG BANG BANG.' This is my daughter and she is only 3 years old.”

At around 10 p.m., police said there was no active threat, but the suspect or suspects were still unknown and police said they were reviewing security footage from the mall to identify those involved.

On Friday morning, police said they believed the shooting was a targeted attack and that the two injured men were hit by stray shots.

Anyone with information and/or images and video of the incident is asked to call the VPD tip line at 360-487-7399.

Anyone who may have left items behind at the mall can contact Vancouver Mall security on Friday to pick up their items, police said.

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