Armed Suspect Tackled By Security At Mall Of America After Robbery
Can you even imagine walking around the Mall Of America and you spot a guy walking casually around with a type of rifle in his hand? This is absolutely mind-blowing to me and the results of what could have happened would be devastating.
Apparently, someone in the mall called security when they saw the man walking around with what they described as an "AR-15 type rifle". Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges said that they did not put the mall on immediate lockdown because they did not want to escalate the situation.
Security watched the suspect on camera as they witnessed him stealing a mechanical dog toy from a kiosk then he entered a lids store where he allegedly pulled out the rifle and demanded that the employees fill up a bag with jerseys. Security then tackled the suspect as he left the store.
Hodges said to WCCO-CBSNews:
By the time this call came in, he was in custody in eight minutes.
Nobody was hurt during the incident including the security guards. While Hodges went on to say it is unclear if he planned on robbing any more stores he walked by a lot of people before somebody called security. Hodges did say that investigators believe he robbed Twin City Pawn in Minneapolis earlier in the day.
The suspect has been identified as a 28-year-old man from Woodbury who did have a license for the gun and has no past criminal record. It is against mall policy to carry a firearm into the Mall of America. The suspect was booked in the Hennepin County Jail where he is facing pending armed robbery charges. Hodges then said to reporters "We got a jersey for him."